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BV  3793  .T75  1920 
Trumbull,  H.  Clay  1830-1903 
Individual  work  for 
individuals 


iv?^U 


/  r  r.~ 

INDIVIDUAL  WOfSk.  FOR 

INDIVIDUALS"  "-liifiJl^ 


A  RECORD  OF  PERSONAL 

EXPERIENCES  AND 

CONVICTIONS 


BV  H.  CLAY  TRUMBULL 

Author  of  *' Prayer:  Its  Nature  and  Scope;"  "Illustrative 

Answers  to  Prayer ;  "  "  War  Memories  of 

an  Army  Chaplain,"  etc. 


FIFTY -FOUR  THOUSAND 


ASSOCIATION     PRESS 

Nbw    Youk:    347    Madison    Avbnub 
192Q 


1^ 


Copyright,  1901 ,  by 
H.  CLAY    TRUMBULL 


.Published  by  The  International  Committee  oC 
Young  Men's  Christian  Associations 


preface 

This  IS  not  merely  a  narrative  of  personal 
experiences  in  the  line  of  effort  for  the  spir- 
itual welfare  of  others.  It  is  rather  an  illus- 
tration of  what  God  is  ever  ready  to  do  for 
one  who  will  work  for  him  and  for  those 
whom  he  loves,  as  God  opens  the  opportu- 
nity in  his  providence.  It  is  a  presentation 
of  the  best  way  of  doing  missionary  work 
in  the  home  and  the  foreign  field,  and  an 
appeal  for  the  doing  of  such  work  by  all. 

The  truth  enforced  in  these  pages  is  that 
God's  chosen  way  of  winning  souls  to 
Christ  is  by  one  person  leading  another 
person.  To  be  sure,  this  truth  is  here 
illustrated,  in  many  cases,  out  of  the 
writer's  personal  experience,  but  most 
truths  have  come  home  to  the  heart  of 
a  writer  in  that  way ;  yet  this,  in  no  sense, 
makes  any  such  truth  the  writer's  exclusive 
possession. 

ffi 


IPtetace 

When  Jesus  Christ  sought  to  wm  the 
world  to  himself,  he  said  to  his  chosen 
disciples,  who  had  themselves  been  enlisted 
one  at  a  time,  **  Go  ye  therefore,  and  make 
disciples  [or  pupilsj  of  all  the  nations." 
Making  disciples  of  all  the  nations  involved 
winning  to  the  teacher  the  individuals  in 
those  nations.  So,  the  seeking  of  a  single 
individual  by  a  single  individual  has  been 
God's  chosen  way  of  evangelizing,  or  of 
doing  missionary  work,  from  the  begin- 
ning of  the  Christian  ages  even  to  the 
present  day. 

We  have  a  responsibility  for  the  right 
hearing,  and  for  the  right  understanding,  of 
God's  truth  by  those  to  whom  we  proclaim 
it.  It  is  not  enough  for  us  to  cry  out  a 
message  to  those  who  may  hear,  or  who 
may  not ;  to  those  who  may  understand  it, 
or  who  may  not.  We  have  a  hearer  to  win 
as  well  as  a  hearer  to  proclaim  to.  As 
Dr.  Duryea  forcibly  put  it,  "The  sick  soul 
^^  needs  not  a  lecture  on  medicine,  but  a  pre- 
scription." Has  not  the  ordinary  method 
iv 


preface 

of  the  physician  of  souls  been  that  of  a  leo 
turer  rather  than  of  a  prescriber  ?  Is  this 
the  proper,  or  the  sensible  way?  This  vol- 
ume advocates  the  method  of  wise  personal 
prescription  for  the  sick  soul.  That  it  may 
have  influence  in  that  direction,  over  stu- 
dents and  followers  of  the  Great  Physician, 
is  the  desire  and  prayer  of 


H.  Clay  Trumbull, 


Philadelphia, 

June  8,  tqoi. 


Contents 
I 

Why    is    Work    for    Single   Souls   a 

Duty? 5 

II 

Won  to  Christ  by  a  Reluctant  Letter  .    it 

III 
A  Life-Resolve  to  Do  Individual  Work  .    19 

IV 
Speaking  for  Christ  to  a    Traveling 

Companion 31 

V 

Faithfulness  to  a  Fellow-Boarder    ,    ,    53 

VI 

Work  for  Single  Souls  in  Army  Life  .    73 

VII 
Winning    those    Met    in    Church    and 

Bible  Class iil 

VIII 
Talk  about  Personal  Work  at  North- 
field  125 

vii 


Contentd 

IX 
Other  Talks  about  Personal  Work  .    .  137 

X 

Personal  Work  bv  Others    .    .    .    •    ,151 

XI 
Why  is  Personal  Work  so  Neglected  ? .  167 

XII 
Influence,  on  Others,  of  Personal  Con- 
viction     I7f 


m 


INDIVIDUAL  WORK  FOR 
INDIVIDUALS 


TRIlb^  is  Mork  tot  Single 
Souls  a  H)uti?? 

Not  every  man  can  be  a  great  preacher 
to  a  great  congregation;  but  every  man 
can  speak  a  timely  word  to  an  individual, 
if,  indeed,  his  heart  be  set  on  so  doing. 
And,  ordinarily,  it  is  a  better  work  to  reach 
an  individual  in  this  way  than  to  endeavor 
to  reach  a  multitude  in  the  other  way. 

As  a  rule,  the  intensity  of  the  appeal  is 
in  inverse  proportion  to  the  area  covered ; 
in  other  words,  the  greater  your  audience, 
the  smaller  the  probability  of  your  appeal 
coming  home  to  a  single  heart  I  once 
heard  Henry  Ward  Beecher  say,  "  The 
longer  I  live,  the  more  confidence  I  have 
in  those  sermons  preached  where  one  man 
is  the  minister  and  one  man  is  the  congre- 
gation ;  where  there's  no  question  as  to  who 
is  meant  when  the  preacher  says,  'Thou 
3 


InDtvlDual  •Mocft 

art  the  man/  "  Years  after  this,  I  heard 
the  Rev.  Dr.  Nevius  speak  similarly  as  to 
the  missionary  field  in  China,  He  said  he 
wanted  no  great  preachers  in  his  field. 
That  was  not  the  sort  of  missionaries  who 
were  needed  in  China.  If  lie  could  find  a 
man  who  could  talk  familiarly,  face  to  face, 
with  another  man,  wherever  he  met  him, 
he  had  missionary  work  for  that  kind  of 
man  in  China.  This  is  the  way  to  do 
Christian  work  in  China,  or  in  America. 
Yet  the  popular  idea  of  the  favorable 
conditions  for  successful  preaching  is  to 
have  an  attractive  church  building,  into 
which  a  large  congregation  shall  be  gath- 
ered, to  be  preached  to  by  an  eloquent 
preacher.  And  if,  indeed,  the  Great  Com- 
mission were,  "  Come  ye  from  all  the  world 
and  hear  the  gospel,"  there  might  seem  to 
be  some  reason  for  accepting  the  popular 
idea  of  the  conditions  of  successful  preach- 
ing as  having  a  sound  basis.  T^e  one 
illustration,  out  of  the  gospel  days,  cited  as 
if  in  approval  of  modern  methods  of  preach- 
4 


ing,  is  the  appeal  of  Peter  in  Jerusalem  on 

the  Day  of  Pentecost,  when  three  thousand 
souls  were  newly  blessed  in  Christ  Yet 
is  that  illustration  rightly  used  in  support 
of  modern  methods  of  preaching  ? 

That  ingathering,  on  the  Day  of  Pente- 
cost, was  not  merely  a  result  of  the  **  ser- 
mon" of  Peter.  John  the  Baptist  had  been 
foretelling  the  mission  of  Christ  for  several 
years.  John's  disciples  had  repeated  and 
extended  his  message.  Jesus  had  sent  out 
his  twelve  apostles  to  make  known  his 
work  and  the  truth,  and  again  he  had  sent 
out  seventy  others  also  on  a  similar  mission. 
Christ's  own  words  had  increased  the  power 
of  the  words  of  John,  and  of  the  twelve,  and 
of  the  seventy.  He  had  told  all  who  be- 
lieved in  him  to  tarry  in  Jerusalem  until 
the  power  from  on  high  had  come.  The  time 
was  one  of  the  great  festivals  of  the  Jewish 
Church.  All  these  new  signs  combined 
with  the  lessons  which  had  been  taught  by 
the  Jewish  ritual  and  the  words  of  priest 
and  prophet  for  centuries.     Hence  to  a»- 


InDivlDual  TlClorR 

cribe  to  Peter's  sermon  the  ingathering,  at 
that  time,  of  three  thousand  persons  from 
among  the  godly  Jews  there  gathered, 
would  be  an  absurdity. 

But  how  had  Peter  and  the  other  apostles 
been  themselves  brought  in  to  Christ's 
service?  Were  they  won  by  a  preacher 
appealing  to  a  multitude?  That  is  a 
point  to  be  considered,  when  we  would 
know  whether  Christian  work  is  to  be  done 
with  the  one  or  with  the  many.  John  the 
Baptist  spoke  to  two  of  his  disciples  con- 
cerning Jesus,  and  the  two  turned  and  fol- 
lowed Jesus.  One  of  those  men  was  John, 
the  other  was  Andrew.  At  once  Andrew 
went  and  called  Simon,  who  was  later 
known  as  Peter.  Thus  it  seems  that  Peter, 
who  is  credited  with  winning  three  thou- 
sand souls  by  a  great  sermon,  was  himself 
won  as  an  individual  by  an  individual. 
That  is  God's  chosen  way  among  men. 
Then  Philip,  a  fellow-townsman  of  Andrew 
and  Peter,  was  won  as  a  follower  of  Jesus. 
Next  after  this  PhiHp  summoned  Na- 
6 


thanael ;  and  the  circle  of  leaders  was  fairly 
started  by  the  method  of  one  man  being  thf 
preacher,  and  one  man  being  the  hearer. 

Circumstances  in  connection  with  my 
being  won  to  Christ,  and  with  the  very 
beginning  of  my  Christian  life,  led  me  to 
examine  carefully  the  teachings  of  Scrip- 
ture, of  history,  and  of  reason,  as  to  the 
truth  in  this  matter ;  and  this  it  is  that  has 
brought  me  to  the  conviction  that  all  these 
several  indications  of  duty  combine  to 
show  that  appeals  to  the  individual  by  an 
individual  is  the  hopeful  way  of  winning 
the  race  to  Christ.  In  view  of  this  fact, 
this  kind  of  effort  has  been  the  most  promi- 
nent feature  of  my  Christian  work,  in  what- 
ever field  I  have  labored,  in  the  half-century 
since  I  was  in  this  way  led  into  Christ's 
service. 

If  a  preacher  has  a  large  congregation  to 
preach  to,  he  can  encourage  himself  with 
the  thought  that  some  one  may  be  helped^ 
even  though  he  never  has  evidence  of  the 
fact.  If,  on  the  other  hand,  his  work  as 
7 


UnDiviOual  llClorft 

an  individual  is  with  an  individual,  he  is 
pretty  sure  to  know  whether  or  not  his 
work  is  effective.  In  such  a  case  his 
whole  congregation  is  sure  to  hear  him, 
and,  ordinarily,  he  hears  from  his  whole 
congregation.  He  can  know  the  result  of 
his  work.  But  many  Christian  hunters 
have  the  feeling  of  the  small-game  hunter 
who  said,  "  In  gunning,  I  ordinarily  prefer 
to  use  a  handful  of  small  shot;  for  then  I'm 
likely  to  hit  something.  With  me  a  single 
bullet  is  apt  to  scatter." 

Many  a  man  who  is  eloquent  before  a 
large  congregation  is  dumb  before  a  single 
individual.  Such  a  man  often  confesses 
that  he  is  not  an  effective  worker  in  an 
"  inquiry  meeting."  Even  in  a  season  of 
special  religious  interest  he  wants  to  turn 
the  work  of  conversing  with  individuals 
over  to  somebody  else.  Yet  such  a  man 
as  Mr.  Moody,  who  thought  more  of  how 
many  individual  souls  he  could  reach  than 
of  his  preaching  before  any  audience,  how- 
ever large,  was  always  desirous  of  getting 
8 


through  with  his  preparatory  pulpit  appeal 
and  of  getting  at  his  more  important  work 
of  pleading  with  individual  souls  in  the 
inquiry  meeting.  And  that  is  the  feeling 
of  every  earnest  evangelist  who  thinks 
more  of  the  work  of  reaping  and  harvest- 
ing than  of  the  work  of  incessantly  sowing 
broadcast  seed  that  may,  or  that  may  not, 
have  final  fruitage. 

Of  course,  the  preference  of  preachers  for 
a  considerable  congregation  of  hearers 
grows  naturally  out  of  their  defective  train- 
ing in  the  theological  seminaries,  and  their 
life  habit  in  the  pulpit.  They  have  come 
to  have  strong  confidence  in  proportion  as 
they  stand  in  their  pulpit  barricade  and 
train  their  sermon  columbiads  on  the  gath- 
ered hosts  before  them.  But  to  go  out 
into  the  open  field  and  engage  in  a  hand- 
to-hand  struggle  with  a  single  individual 
is  quite  a  different  matter.  They  have  had 
scant  training  in  that  sort  of  conflict ;  there- 
fore they  confess  their  feeling  of  unfitness 
for  its  entering.  Bossuet,  the  great  French 
9 


UnDtvtOual  morft 

preacher,  said  frankly  as  to  this  very  mat- 
ter :  "  It  requires  more  faith  and  courage 
to  say  two  words  face  to  face  with  one 
single  sinner,  than  from  the  pulpit  to  re- 
buke two  or  three  thousand  persons,  ready 
to  listen  to  everything,  on  condition  ©f 
forgetting  all." 

But  whether  attractive  or  unattractive, 
easy  or  difficult,  the  duty  of  the  individual 
to  press  Christ  on  the  individual  is  impera- 
tive on  every  Christian,  and  it  is  the 
supremely  hopeful  mode  of  evangelism. 
And,  whether  one  is  a  clergyman  or  a 
layman,  he  cannot  be  doing  his  full  duty 
until  he  has  become  ready  to  do  this  work, 
and  is  skilled  in  its  doing. 


11 

XRDion  to  Cbrtst  \>^  a  IReluctant  Xettet 

My  early  life  was  passed  in  Stonington, 
Connecticut.  One  of  my  most  intimate 
friends  there  came  out  and  confessed  Christ 
during  a  revival,  or  season  of  special  religious 
interest.  Quite  a  number  of  my  young 
friends  took  the  same  step  that  he  did.  I 
was  interested  in  what  interested  them,  and 
the  matter  was  prominent  in  my  thoughts. 
Had  any  one  of  them,  or  had  any  one  else, 
spoken  a  personal  word  to  me  on  the  sub- 
ject, at  that  time,  I  would  have  welcomed 
it  gladly;  but  no  such  word  came. 

I  was,  indeed,  somewhat  surprised  that 
my  friend  had  no  word  to  say  on  the  sub- 
ject, then  or  at  some  time  later,  intimate  as 
he  and  I  were.  Especially  was  this  the 
case  as  we  corresponded  freely  during  his 
college  course  in  Yale.  When  I  was 
about  twenty-one  years  old  I  removed  to 
11 


InMvtDual  Wovn 

Hartford,  and  I  continued  to  correspond 
freely  with  my  Stonington  friend. 

In  the  winter  of  1851-52  there  was  a 
widespread  religious  interest  in  Hartford,  in 
connection  with  special  meetings  led  by  the 
Rev.  Charles  G.  Finney  of  Oberlin.  But 
as  I  was  boarding  at  a  house  where  the 
young  men  at  the  table  had  only  words  of 
contempt  or  ridicule  for  the  whole  matter, 
I  attended  none  of  the  meetings,  did  not  at 
the  first  hear  Mr.  Finney,  and  had  no  con- 
scious interest  in  his  work  or  its  results. 
In  a  letter  from  my  old  friend  in  Stoning- 
ton he  mentioned  incidentally  that  there 
was  again  a  season  of  special  religious  in- 
terest in  our  native  place ;  but  all  this  took 
no  special  hold  on  me,  or  caused  me  to 
feel  that  my  pre-eminent  interests  were 
involved. 

At  that  time  I  was  engaged  in  the  chief 
engineer's  office  of  the  Hartford,  Provi- 
dence, and  Fishkill  Railroad  Company. 
One  noon,  as  I  was  returning  from  my  mid- 
day meal,  I  stopped  at  the  post-office  for  the 


HQlon  to  Cbrtdt  tyQ  a  IReiuctant  Xettec 

noon  mail,  A  letter  came  from  my  Stoning- 
ton  friend.  This  surprised  me,  for  I  had  not 
yet  acknowledged  his  letter  of  a  few  days 
before.  As  I  read  the  first  few  lines  of  the 
letter,  I  saw  that  it  was  a  personal  appeal 
to  me.  At  once  crumpling  the  letter  in 
my  hand  I  thrust  it  into  my  pocket,  saying 
to  a  friend  who  was  with  me,  "  I  think  there 
must  be  a  big  revival  in  Stonington,  if  it 
has  set  my  old  friend  preaching  to  me," 
Then,  brushing  the  subject  away  from  my 
mind,  I  started  down  Asylum  Street  toward 
my  office  and  my  work. 

But  the  subject  of  that  letter,  and  the 
letter  itself,  would  not  stay  brushed  away. 
I  asked  myself  how  it  was  that  that  letter, 
on  that  subject,  had  been  written.  In  all 
our  years  of  intimacy  since  my  friend  had 
come  out  openly  for  Christ,  he  had  never 
before  said  or  written  a  word  on  this  sub- 
ject. Had  it  been  an  easy  thing  for  him 
to  do  now?  Was  it  a  desire  for  his  own 
enjoyment,  or  a  desire  for  my  good,  that 
had  prompted  this  writing  T     H  was  worth 


while  to  read  that  letter,  and  consider  its 
contents,  before  throwing  it  aside  perma- 
nently. These  were  the  thoughts  that 
naturally  ran  in  my  mind  as  I  walked  to- 
ward my  office. 

The  office  of  the  chief  engmeer,  where 
my  work  lay,  was  on  the  third  floor  of  one 
of  the  stone  towers  of  the  railroad  station. 
Instead  of  stopping  on  that  floor,  I  passed 
on  up  the  stairs  to  the  fourth  floor,  and 
went  into  a  little  map-closet  on  that  upper 
floor.  Shutting  myself  into  the  map« 
closet,  where  I  could  be  entirely  alone,  I 
took  out  from  my  pocket  the  crumpled 
letter,  smoothed  it  out,  and  began  with  real 
interest  to  read,  ' 

*'  I  have  been  too  long  silent,"  wrote  my 
friend.  "  The  prevalence  of  a  deep  religious 
feeling  in  this  community  has,  to  some  ex« 
tent,  opened  my  eyes  to  my  former  short- 
comings, and  led  me  to  consider  what  was 
my  duty  in  using  my  influence,  small  as  it 
may  be,  to  direct  the  attention  of  any  of 
my  friends  to  the  consideration  of  eternal 


tKlon  to  Cbrtst  bs  a  IReluctant  'JLctict 

things.  Often  have  I  felt  like  speaking  to 
you  on  this  subject,  but  as  often  have 
timidity  and  fear  kept  me  back/'  I  noted 
this  statement  even  as  I  read. 

**  We  have  been  companions  and  intimate 
friends  for  years.  We  have  enjoyed  the 
society  of  each  other,  and  together  the  so- 
ciety of  others.  Seldom  has  a  harsh  word 
or  an  unkind  feeling  marred  the  harmony 
of  our  intercourse,  and  it  seems  to  me  that 
•  thus  what  you  might  have  considered  from 
another  an  act  of  intrusion  you  will  con- 
sider from  me  an  evidence  of  my  sincere  re- 
gard, and  my  earnest  desire  for  your  good.'* 

After  this  half-apology  for  speaking  on 
this  all-important  subject,  my  friend  went 
on  to  urge  me  to  seek  and  find  peace  in 
Christ  Then,  in  conclusion,  he  said,  "  Do 
be  persuaded  by  me.  If  I  could  be  the 
instrument  however  humble,  and  to  how- 
ever small  an  extent,  of  leading  you  to 
think  seriously  of  this,  I  should  consider 
that  I  had  more  than  repaid  your  kindness 
and  interest  in  me.  Let  me  beg  you  by 
n 


inDtvtDuai  motR 

the  remembrance  of  our  friendship,  but 
more  than  all  by  the  regard  for  your  own 
good,  think  of  these  things.  ...  If  any  im- 
pression is  produced  on  your  mind  [by  this 
appeal]  do  not  attempt  to  drive  it  away, 
but  seek  light  and  help  from  the  only 
source  whence  they  can  be  derived." 

Then,  as  evidencing  his  thought  that 
little  good  might  come  from  this  personal 
appeal,  and  that  it  might,  after  all,  be 
deemed  an  intrusion,  he  said,  in  conclu- 
sion :  "  I  have  now  tried  to  acquit  myself 
of  a  duty  too  long  neglected,  but  do  not 
think  it  has  been  an  easy  one.  It  is  one 
I  could  not  avoid,  and,  although  I  have 
delayed  it,  I  determined  to  delay  it  no 
longer.  I  shall  not  ask  you  to  excuse  me 
for  writing  you  so  serious  a  letter,  the 
first  one  [of  the  sort]  I  ever  wrote  you« 
You  will,  I  am  sure,  not  accuse  me  of  any 
desire  to  hurt  your  feelings,  but  will  appre- 
ciate the  love  which  dictated  and  the  earn- 
est desire  for  your  good  which  caused  its 
expression.  I  may  never  have  the  courage 
s6 


Wion  t^  Cbrtst  bi5  a  IReluctant  Icttec 

to  address  you  again  in  this  manner,  and, 
if  I  do  not,  be  advised  by  me  now.  I  ask 
no  answer  to  this,  nor  shall  I  expect  any, 
for  I  know  exactly  yopr  feelings.  But  if, 
after  acknowledging  the  truth  of  what  I 
have  written,  you  determine  to  follow  my 
advice,  I  beg  you  to  let  me  know," 

Before  I  had  read  the  last  of  this  letter, 
I  was  on  my  knees  in  that  corner  map- 
room  in  that  lofty  tower  summit,  asking 
forgiveness  of  God,  and  committing  my- 
self to  a  long  slighted  Saviour.  That  was 
a  turning-point  in  my  life  course ;  and  in  a 
half-century  that  has  passed  since  then  I 
have  been  renewedly  more  and  more  grate- 
ful for  the  writing  of  that  letter,  and  for  the 
loving  spirit  that  prompted  it.  And  I  have 
wished  that  other  friends  were  as  true  to 
their  friends. 

My  friend  was,  indeed,  surprised  and 
gladdened  by  my  letter  in  quick  response 
to  his,  telling  of  my  action  on  his  appeal, 
and  of  my  new  life  purpose.  After  years 
of  Christian  sympathy  with  that  dear  friend 


InMvf&ual  morft 

and  brother  in  Christ,  to  whom  I  owed  so 
much,  I  went  back  to  our  native  place  to 
have  a  part  in  the  funeral  services  when 
they  had  brought  him,  from  his  New  York 
City  home,  to  lay  him  in  the  village  ceme- 
tery in  Stonington. 

As  one  and  another  bore  testimony  to 
his  work  and  his  worth,  I  added  my  tribute 
by  saying  that  whatever  others  might  testify 
as  to  his  influence  for  good  in  the  commu- 
nity, I  could  say  gratefully  that  to  his 
Christian  fidelity,  and  to  his  faithful  appeal 
for  Christ,  I  owed,  under  God,  everything 
that  I  rejoiced  in  for  this  life  and  for  the 
life  that  is  to  come. 

And  the  way  of  my  being  won  to  Christ, 
as  it  were,  by  a  word,  and  that,  in  a  sense  a 
reluctant  word,  taught  me  a  lesson  as  to 
the  way  of  working  for  souls.  That  les- 
son was  impressed  on  me  at  the  time,  and 
it  has  been  renewedly  impressed  on  me 
by  experience  and  observation,  year  by 
year,  in  all  the  years  since  then. 


i8 


Ill 

H  Xite«*1Resolve  to  Do 
InMviDual  movh 

In  view  of  the  fact  that  a  personal  appeal 
to  me,  from  an  individual,  to  seek  the 
Saviour,  had  had  an  influence  over  my 
thoughts  and  action  beyond  all  the  ser- 
mons and  addresses  to  any  collection  ^f 
persons  of  which  I  had  been  a  part,  the 
importance  of  individual  effort  with  individ- 
uals for  Christ  naturally  assumed  a  new 
importance  in  my  mind.  And  the  fact 
that  the  friend  whose  first  appeal  to  me  had 
won  me  to  Christ  had,  even  while  often 
prompted  to  it  as  a  duty,  postponed  that 
appeal  for  years,  to  his  lack  and  mine, 
because  of  his  "  timidity  and  fear,"  had  em- 
phasized the  truth  that  the  individual  Chris- 
tian has  a  duty  to  urge  individuals  about 
him  to  come  to  Christ,  whether  he  likes 
to  do  it  or  not 

19 


And  thus,  in  my  being  won  to  Christ  as 
I  had  been,  I  had  not  only  received  a  rich 
blessing  to  my  own  soul,  but  I  had,  at  the 
same  time,  been  taught,  with  fresh  and  irre- 
sistible force,  a  truth  of  truths  as  to  my  per- 
sonal duty  in  work  for  Christ  and  for  those 
whom  Christ  loves.  I,  as  an  individual,  had 
been  won  to  Christ  by  an  individual  follower 
and  representative  of  Christ.  And  I  had 
been  taught  that  every  individual  follower 
of  Christ  has  a  duty  to  make  known  to 
other  individuals  the  duty  of  serving  and 
representing  Christ.  And  thus  my  hfe 
mission  was  given  me  as  a  duty  when  my 
life  trust  in  Christ  was  shown  me  as  a 
privilege.  Does  it  seem  strange,  then,  that 
my  half-century  of  Christian  service  since 
that  time  has  been  largely  influenced  by 
this  beginning  of  my  Christian  life,  under 
its  peculiar  circumstances? 

It  was  some  time  after  this  that  I  learned 
how  prominent  this  method  of  extending 
the  truth  had  been  among  the  most  de- 
voted lovers  of  Christ  in  former  centuries ; 
20 


B  %itc^1Rceoivc 

but  to  me  it  came  as  a  fresh  truth,  and  as 
almost  a  self-evident  one.  I  later  found 
that  this  had  been  the  method  of  evangeliz- 
ing, not  only  among  the  apostles,  but  in 
almost  every  revival  of  apostolic  zeal. 
Reinerius,  the  papal  inquisitor,  reported 
against  the  Vaudois,  or  Waldenses,  in  the 
thirteenth  century,  that  "  he  who  has  been 
a  disciple  for  seven  days  looks  out  some 
one  whom  he  may  teach  in  his  turn,  so  that 
there  is  a  continual  increased  That,  surely, 
is  a  good  way  of  having  the  cause  of  Christ 
progress  where  the  followers  of  Christ  are, 
in  our  neighborhood — or  anywhere  else. 

So  soon  as  I  had  come  to  the  point  of 
Christian  decision  for  myself,  I  looked 
about  me  for  another  man.  I  did  not  have 
far  to  go.  An  associate  with  me  in  the 
office  of  the  chief  engineer  was  a  fel- 
low-boarder with  me  in  the  house  which 
was  my  temporary  home.  We  were  accus- 
tomed to  walk  together  to  and  from  the 
boarding-house  and  the  office.  We  were 
near  each  other  all  day  in  the  office,  and  we 

21 


Hn&tviDual  morft 

sat  near  each  other  at  the  boarding-house 
table.  As  we  walked  together  from  the 
house  to  the  office,  I  told  my  friend  of  my 
new  decision  for  Christ,  and  I  urged  him 
to  make  a  like  decision.  He  turned  toward 
me  as  we  walked,  and  said  earnestly: 

"Trumbull,  your  words  cut  me  to  the 
heart.  You  little  think  how  they  rebuke 
me.  I've  long  been  a  professed  follower 
of  Christ;  and  you  have  never  suspected 
this,  although  we've  been  in  close  asso- 
ciation in  house  and  office  for  years.  I've 
never  said  a  word  to  you  for  the  Sav- 
iour whom  I  trust.  I've  never  urged  you 
to  trust  him.  I've  never  said  a  word  for 
him.  And  now  a  follower  of  his,  and  a 
friend  of  yours,  from  a  distance,  has  been 
the  means  of  leading  you  to  him.  And  here 
are  you,  inviting  me  to  come  to  that  *Sav- 
iour  of  whom  I  have  been  a  silent  follower 
for  years.  May  God  forgive  me  for  my 
lack  of  faithfulness ! " 

It  will  be  believed  that  this  new  incident 
pressed  on  me  more  forcibly  the  common 

22 


B  Xife^lResolvc 

unwillingness  of  Christians  to  speak  for 
Christ  to  their  individual  friends  or  asso- 
ciates, and  the  duty  of  such  speaking  as  a 
hopeful  means  of  honoring  their  Master 
and  of  helping  their  fellows. 

Then  it  was  that  I  made  a  purpose  and 
resolve  for  life.  The  purpose  I  formed 
was,  as  an  imperative  duty,  not  to  fail  in  my 
Christian  life  in  the  particular  way  that  these 
two  friends  of  mine  confessed  that  they  had 
consciously  failed.  I  determined  that  as  I 
loved  Christ,  and  as  Christ  loved  souls,  I 
would  press  Christ  on  the  individual  soul, 
so  that  none  who  were  in  the  proper  sphere 
of  my  individual  responsibility  or  influence 
should  lack  the  opportunity  of  meeting  the 
question  whether  or  not  they  would  in- 
dividually trust  and  follow  Christ.  The 
resolve  I  made  was,  that  whenever  I  was 
in  such  intimacy  with  a  soul  as  to  be  justi- 
fied in  choosing  my  subject  of  conversa- 
tion, the  theme  of  themes  should  have 
prominence  between  us,  so  that  I  might 
learn  his  need,  ^nd,  if  possible,  meet  it 
23 


UnOtviDual  limorft 

That  decision  has  largely  shaped  my 
Christian  life-work  in  the  half-century  that 
has  followed  its  making".  I  have  not  al- 
ways been  faithful  in  this  sphere  of  Chris- 
tian service,  as,  indeed,  I  have  failed  or 
lacked  in  every  other  sphere ;  but  my  re- 
solve at  this  point  has  been  adhered  to  as 
faithfully  as  any  other  resolve  I  ever  made, 
and  I  have  steadily  grown  in  the  conviction 
that  it  was  a  wise  resolve.  The  more  ex- 
tensive and  varied  has  been  my  experience, 
and  the  more  I  have  known  of  the  Christian 
labors  of  others,  the  more  positive  is  my 
conviction  that  the  winning  of  one  soul  to 
Christ,  or  of  ten  thousand  souls  to  Christ, 
is  best  done  by  the  effort  of  an  individual 
with  an  individual,  not  by  the  proclama- 
tion^of  an  individual  to  a  multitude,  larger 
or  smaller,  without  the  accompanying  or 
following  face -to -face  pleading  with  the 
single  soul. 

My  experience  came  to  be  varied,  but 
in  every  fresh  phase  of  that  experience  the 
pre-eminent  value  of  work  for  one  soul  at  a 


B  Xtte*1Rc50lve 

time,  over  work  for  a  multitude  of  souls  on 
the  same  occasion,  stands  out  as  the  truth 
beyond  challenge  or  question.  This  was  my 
conviction  in  the  first  days  of  my  Christian 
consecration.  This  is  my  conviction  to-day 
more  positively  than  ever  before.  How- 
ever others  may  feel  about  it,  I  cannot 
have  a  doubt  on  the  subject.  Winning  one 
soul  at  a  time  usually  results  in  the  winning 
of  a  multitude  of  souls  in  the  process  of 
time.  But  addressing  a  multitude  of  souls, 
and  urging  them  all  to  trust  and  serve 
Christ,  may  not  be  the  means  of  winning 
even  one  soul  to  Christ,  now  or  at  any 
time. 

Within  a  few  weeks  of  my  first  enter- 
ing Christ's  service,  I  most  unexpectedly 
found  myself  summoned  to  superintend  a 
newly  organized  mission  Sunday-school  in 
Hartford.  In  this  way  I  was  providentially 
started  in  the  line  of  religious  work  that 
has  been  my  chief  method  of  Christian  effort 
from  that  time  to  the  present.  In  this,  my 
first  field  of  Christian  work,  I  found  that  I 

25 


llnt)tvlOual  •QGlorh 

could  do  most  and  best  for  my  charge  by 
appealing  to  the  individual  when  he  and  I 
were  alone  together,  rather  than  by  my 
most  efTective  appeals  from  the  desk,  or  by 
my  most  attractive  endeavors  to  impress 
the  school  as  a  whole.  Occasionally,  when 
a  boy  whose  conduct  and  influence  seemed 
hopelessly  bad  was  not  to  be  reached 
through  anything  said  by  teacher  or  super- 
intendent in  the  presence  of  others,  I  found 
that  a  personal  talk  with  him  near  his 
haunts  of  an  evening,  when  no  one  else 
could  see  us,  would  give  me  a  hold  on 
him,  so  that  I  could  lead  him  to  a  better 
view,  and  a  higher  estimate,  of  his  possi- 
bilities and  duties.  A  good  superintendent 
or  a  good  teacher  will  often  do  more  for 
Christ  and  for  the  most  incorrigible  pupil 
by  a  half-hour's  talk  with  that  pupil  all  by 
himself  out  of  the  school  than  is  done  for 
such  a  person  in  a  year's  time  by  superin- 
tendent and  teacher  in  the  school  or  class 
as  a  whole.  And  this  kind  of  effort  I  came 
to  value  more  and  more, 
-56 


21  OLitCslResotve 

National  politics  was  just  then  assuming 
more  importance  as  a  great  moral  issue,  in 
view  of  the  struggle  over  the  extension  of 
slavery  into  free  territory.  It  was  about 
the  time  of  the  formation  of  the  Republi- 
can party.  I  was  on  the  stump  for  the  first 
candidates  of  that  party ;  and  I  was  active 
in  the  work  of  canvassing  for  the  election 
of  those  candidates.  In  this  field,  as  in  the 
mission  Sunday-school  field,  I  found  that 
the  effective  political  work  was  to  be  done, 
not  in  the  public  meetings,  addressed  by 
eloquent  speakers,  but  in  the  quiet,  sys- 
tematic searching  out  of  the  individual 
voter,  and  winning  him  to  the  right  side. 
Indeed,  I  had  the  privilege  of  introducing 
and  advocating  measures  for  an  extension 
of  this  canvassing  for  individual  voters 
which  were  novel  then,  but  which  gained 
in  recognition  and  prominence  as  their 
superior  effectiveness  was  evidenced.  No 
political  campaign  is  won  by  speakers  on 
the  stump.  Stump  speeches  are  well 
enough  in  their  way.  They  arouse  enthu< 
27 


UntJtvlDual  IRaorft 

siasm  and  make  voters  ready  to  wonc ;  but 
the  campaign  is  won  by  the  man-to-man 
canvass  of  the  individual  voter.  One  man 
is  more  than  a  hundred  in  the  held  of  mis- 
sions or  of  politics.  Until  that  thought 
prevails,  the  world  will  never  be  won  to 
Christ,  or  to  any  good  cause. 

During  the  Civil  War  I  unexpectedly 
received  an  invitation  to  enter  army  ser- 
vice as  a  chaplain.  My  state  of  health 
having  forbidden  my  accepting  any  other 
position  in  the  army,  I  accepted  this  as  one 
where  I  might  hope  to  be  of  some  service. 
I  was  accordingly  ordained  and  went  out, 
and  for  three  years  I  was  privileged  to  be 
in  active  army  service.  There,  again,  the 
Christian  work  that  told  was  not  that  of 
address  to  a  collection  of  persons,  but  the 
man-to-man  appeal  of  the  chaplain  to  the 
single  officer  or  soldier,  when  no  one  else 
was  within  sight  or  hearing.  And  this  ad- 
vantage was  not  because  the  chaplain  was 
a  chaplain,  and  therefore  he  had  to  work 
in  a  peculiar  way,  but  it  was  because  tha 
28 


B  X(te*1Re0Olve 

chaplain  was  a  man  and  his  charge  was 
made  up  of  individual  men,  and  his  best 
way  to  deal  with  his  men  was  the  best  way 
to  deal  with  all  men. 

After  my  return  from  the  army  I  was 
again  in  the  Sunday-school  missionary  field, 
which  I  had  left  to  go  out  as  a  chaplain. 
For  ten  years  I  addressed  gatherings  of 
persons  in  numbers  from  ten  or  fifteen  to 
five  or  six  thousand  each.  In  this  work  I 
went  from  Maine  to  California,  and  from 
Minnesota  to  Florida.  This  gave  me  an 
opportunity  to  test  the  relative  value  of 
speeches  to  gathered  assemblies.  Later,  I 
have  been  for  more  than  twenty-five  years 
an  editor  of  a  religious  periodical  that  has 
had  a  circulation  of  more  than  a  hundred 
thousand  a  week  during  much  of  the  time. 
Meanwhile  I  have  published  more  than 
thirty  different  volumes.  Yet  looking  back 
upon  my  work,  in  all  these  years,  I  can  see 
more  direct  results  of  good  through  my 
individual  efforts  with  individuals,  than  I 
can  know  of  through  all  my  spoken  words 
29 


to  thousands  upon  thousands  of  persons 
in  religious  assemblies,  or  all  my  written 
words  on  the  pages  of  periodicals  or  of 
books.  And  in  this  I  do  not  think  that 
my  experience  has  been  wholly  unlike  that 
of  many  others  who  have  had  large  experi- 
ence in  both  spheres  of  influence. 

Reaching  one  person  at  a  time  is  the 
best  way  of  reaching  all  the  world  in  time. 
Reaching  one  person  at  a  time  is  the  best 
way  of  reaching  a  single  individual.  There- 
fore seeking  a  single  individual  is  the  best 
way  of  winning  one  person  or  a  multitude 
to  Christ.  The  world  is  made  up  of  indi- 
viduals. Christ  longs  for  individuals  to  be 
in  his  service.  Therefore  he  who  considers 
Christ's  love,  or  the  world's  needs,  will 
think  most  of  individuals,  and  will  do  most 
for  individuals. 


30 


IV 


Speafting  tor  Cbrtst  to  a  Utavclim 
Companion 

I  soon  found  that  it  was  not  necessary  to 
be  with  a  needy  soul  in  an  "  inquiry  meet- 
ing," or  in  a  room  alone  with  him,  where 
circumstances  seemed  to  favor  a  religious 
conversation,  before  I  improved  the  oppor- 
tunity to  speak  a  word  for  Christ  to  him. 
If  there  was  an  opportunity  to  speak  on 
any  subject,  there  was  an  opportunity  to 
speak  on  the  theme  of  themes,  and  I  there- 
fore came  to  act  on  this  conviction. 

Entering,  one  November  morning,  at  the 
Grand  Central  Station  in  New  York,  a 
crowded  train  for  Boston,  I  found  the  only 
vacant  seat  was  one  alongside  of  a  pleas- 
ant-faced, florid-complexioned,  large-framed 
young  man,  and  that  seat  I  took,  and  be- 
gan to  read  the  morning  paper.  After  a 
few  minutes  my  seat-mate  took  from  his 
31 


inDlvtDual  motR 

valise  a  large  case  bottle  of  whiskey  and  a 
metal  drinking-cup.  Before  drinking  him- 
self, he  proffered  it  to  me.  As  I  thanked 
him  and  declined  it,  he  drank  by  himself. 
I  still  read  my  paper,  but  I  thought  of  my 
seat -mate,  and  I  watched  for  an  oppor- 
tunity. In  a  little  while  he  again  turned  to 
his  valise,  and,  as  before,  took  out  his  whis- 
key bottle.  Once  more  he  offered  it  to  me, 
and  again  I  declined  it  with  thanks.  As  he 
put  away  the  bottle,  after  drinking  from  it 
the  second  time,  he  said : 

"  Don't  you  ever  drink,  my  friend?" 

"  No,  my  friend,  I  do  not." 

"Well,  I  guess  you  think  I'm  a  pretty 
rough  fellow.'* 

'*  I  think  you're  a  very  generous-hearted 
fellow.  But  I  tell  you  frankly  I  don't  think 
your  whiskey-drinking  is  the  best  thing 
about  you." 

"  Well,  I  don't  believe  it  is." 

*'  Why  do  you  keep  it  up,  then  ?  " 

At  this  he  told  me  something  of  his 
story.  He  was  a  Massachusetts  country 
32 


boy,  now  a  clerk  in  a  large  New  York 
jobbing  house.  He  was  just  going  to  his 
old  country  home  to  spend  Thanksgiv- 
ing. He  confessed  that  he  had  fallen 
into  bad  ways  in  the  city,  very  different 
ways  from  those  of  his  boyhood  in  Massa- 
chusetts. I  asked  him  about  his  mother, 
and  he  spoke  lovingly  and  tenderly  of  her. 
He  said  he  knew  she  was  praying  for  him 
constantly.  This  brought  us  into  close 
quarters.  I  told  him  that  I  was  sure  his 
mother  would  be  happy  if  he  prayed  for 
himself,  and  that  he  knew  that  he  ought  to 
do  this.     I  urged  him  to  do  it 

He  was  evidently  surprised  and  touched 
by  my  expressions  of  interest  in  him. 
Then  he  spoke  gratefully  of  another  show 
of  interest  in  him.     He  said  : 

*'  I  was  coming  up  Broadway,  the  other 
night.  It  was  about  midnight.  I  had  been 
having  *a  time.*  I'll  own  up,  I'd  been  off 
on  a  regular  *  bum.'  A  little  ahead  of  me  I 
saw  a  fellow  in  a  doorway,  and  he  came  out 
as  if  he  were  coming  for  me.  I  squared 
33 


InmviDual  TKIlorh 

away  towards  him,  as  I  came  near  him,  for 
I  thought  he  was  *  laying '  for  me.  But  as  I 
got  opposite  to  him  he  just  gave  me  a  card, 
and  asked  me  to  accept  it,  and  I  passed  on. 

"When  I  got  to  the  next  lamp-post  I 
looked  at  that  card,  and  it  told  about  a 
place  on  Twenty -third  Street,  called  a 
'Young  Men's  Christian  Association.* 
where  they'd  like  to  have  young  men  come 
in  any  time,  and  make  themselves  at  home. 
And  there  that  fellow,  that  I'd  squared  away 
to,  was  out  there  at  midnight  *  laying  *  for 
just  such  *  bummers '  as  I  was,  to  invite  'em 
to  come  in  and  make  themselves  at  home  in 
that  place.  I  *  swow,'  I  mean  to  go  up  to 
that  place,  when  I  get  back,  and  give  'em 
five  dollars  for  the  good  they're  doing." 

I  told  my  seat-mate  that  those  who  love 
Christ  love  such  as  he,  because  Christ  loves 
them,  And  I  urged  him  to  make  his 
Thanksgiving  Day  at  his  old  homestead  a 
real  day  of  thanksgiving,  by  telling  his 
good  mother  that  her  prayers  for  him  were 
answered- 

34 


B  tTraveling  Companion 

"  That  would  make  my  old  mother  pretty- 
happy,  if  I  did  that,"  he  said  heartily. 

"Wouldn't  you  like  to  make  your  old 
mother  happy,  as  you  go  home  to  have  a 
Thanksgiving  with  her  ?  "  I  asked. 

"  Indeed  I  would,"  he  said. 

As  we  came  to  my  Hartford  home, 
where  I  was  to  leave  the  train,  I  took  his 
hand  and  urged  him  again  to  do  what  he 
knew  was  his  duty,  and  which  would  glad^ 
den  his  good  mother's  heart.  He  thanked 
me  for  my  interest  in  his  welfare.  He 
promised  to  talk  with  his  mother  of  our 
conversation.  He  assured  me  that  he 
would  endeavor  to  profit  by  our  talk.  I 
urged  him  to  commit  himself  to  Christ  as 
the  all-sufficient  Saviour,  and  we  parted. 

This  was  an  illustration  of  the  truth  that 
not  always  does  a  word  for  Christ  to  a  seat- 
mate  in  the  cars,  as  we  travel,  result  in 
evidence  that  that  word  is  blessed  in  the 
final  act  of  decision  by  the  needy  one. 
Yet  it  also  illustrates  the  fact  that  a  faithful 
word  to  a  temporary  seat-mate  may  be  a 
35 


UnMvtDual  llClorft 

profitable  opportunity  for  giving  faithful 
counsel,  even  though  we  know  nothing  as 
to  the  final  outcome. 

I  have  had  hundreds  of  such  conversa. 
tions  with  seat-mates  on  the  car,  seat-mates 
whom  I  had  never  seen  before,  and  whom 
I  never  met  again.  I  never  had  such  a 
conversation  which  I  had  reason  to  regret, 
or  which  seemed  to  be  distasteful  to  my 
companion.  And  many  such  a  conversa- 
tion has  brought  out  the  warmest  side  of 
a  fellow- Christian,  whom  I  have  come  to 
be  intimate  with  in  after  years.  Improv- 
ing such  an  occasion  is  a  manifest  duty. 
The  result  of  such  a  conversation  is  with 
Him  for  whom  we  seek  to  improve  it 


One  morning,  as  I  was  riding  on  a  train 
in  Western  Connecticut,  I  saw  a  young 
man  whom  I  had  seen  at  a  religious  meet- 
ing the  evening  before.  I  had  never  seen 
him  except  at  that  time;  but  there  was  a 
deep  religious  interest  just  then  in  the 
church  where  I  had  seen  him,  and  accord* 
36 


221  Zx^vcling  Companton 

ingly  I  took  a  seat  by  his  side  and  began 
conversation  on  the  subject.  He  seemed 
glad  to  be  spoken  to  about  it,  and  I  said 
I  hoped  he  would  enter  into  Christ's  ser- 
vice with  the  others  there  who  were  doing 
so.     He  said  he  wished  it  were  so. 

"  Then  why  isn't  it  so  ?  **  I  asked. 
"You  have  nothing  to  do  but  to  commit 
yourself  at  once  to  the  loving  Saviour  as 
his  servant  and  follower.  He  is  more 
ready  to  accept  you  than  you  are  to  offer 
yourself." 

"  Do  you  mean,  Mr.  Trumbull,  that  here 
on  this  car-seat,  just  now,  I  can  give  my- 
self to  the  Saviour,  and  he  will  accept  me 
without  any  further  preparation  on  my 
part  ?  " 

"I  mean  just  that,"  I  said.  "The  Sav- 
iour is  ready  when  you  are.  There  is  no 
gain  in  your  waiting;  and  no  farther  prep- 
aration is  needed  than  for  you  to  be 
ready  to  give  yourself  to  him  and  to  trust 
him  unhesitatingly.** 

He  said  not  a  word  more  about  himseli, 
37 


but  he  gave  evidence  of  a  loving,  trustful 
soul,  when  he  reached  out  in  thought  after 
another,  saying : 

**  Mr.  Trumbull,  I've  a  brother  who  ought 
to  be  a  follower  of  Christ.  I  wish  you 
could  talk  to  him." 

That  is  one  of  the  first  evidences  of  the 
Christian  spirit  and  life, — an  interest  in 
another  soul,  and  the  forgetting  of  self  in 
that  care  for  another  Dr.  Guthrie  em- 
phasized this  truth  in  an  illustration  in  his 
"  Gospel  in  Ezekiel,"  that  impressed  me 
profoundly  in  my  early  Christian  life,  A 
drifting  boat  was  found  in  mid-ocean,  that 
had  come  from  a  sinking  vessel.  Dis- 
covered by  a  passing  ship,  a  boat  and  crew 
were  sent  in  its  pursuit.  A  man  wellnigh 
exhausted  was  found  in  the  boat  from  the 
wreck.  As  this  man  was  lifted  up,  and 
taken  out  into  the  other  boat,  he  partially 
revived,  and  his  first  feeble  words  were,  be- 
fore he  sank  again  into  unconsciousness, 
**  There's  another  man  in  the  boat"  Saved 
himself,  his  first  thought  was  to  have  an- 
|8 


B  Zx^vcllrxQ  Companion 

other  saved.  That's  the  sign  of  true  life. 
My  seat-mate  on  the  car  that  morning  gave 
this  sign  of  Hfe,  and  we  parted  for  the  time, 
as  we  neared  our  destination. 

The  next  thing  that  I  heard  from  him 
was  by  letter  from  a  retired  country  place 
in  Vermont,  where  he  was  evidencing  his 
interest  in  souls  in  more  ways  than  one. 
He  wrote  of  it,  and  I  was  moved  by  his  let- 
ter. It  gave  fresh  evidence  that  he  was  in 
Christ's  service.  He  urged  me  to  do  more 
for  souls  and  for  the  Saviour,  and  to  urge 
others  to  do  similarly.  In  his  letter,  he 
wrote : 

"  O  Mr.  Trumbull !  you  cannot  urge 
the  followers  of  Jesus  in  too  strong  terms 
to  talk  more  of  him.  A  kind  word  may 
save  a  soul !  That  soul  may  save  a  thou- 
sand !  Do  they  realize  it  ?  When  I  re- 
member, at  times,  how  my  soul  has  longed, 
when  a  mere  boy,  a  stranger  in  a  great 
city,  for  some  one  to  take  an  interest  in  me 
and  my  soul's  welfare,  I  feel  as  though  I 
should  fly  away  for  fear  there  is  some  one 
39 


near  me  smothering  the  same  awful  feel" 
ings,  and  longing  for  that  kind  word  of 
Christian  sympathy. 

"  I  remember  very  well,  the  morning  I 
packed  my  things  to  go  and  fill  that  situa- 
tion in  that  city,  how  my  mother  prayed 
for  me,  and  said,  as  she  thought  of  the 
temptations  I  should  be  subject  to,  *0 
William,  how  I  wish  you  were  a  Chris- 
tian 1  *  I  wished  so  too.  She  hoped  all 
would  be  right.  When,  that  day,  I  went 
into  the  garden  to  say  good-by  to  father, 
as  he  saw  me  coming  he  turned  his  head 
to  hide  the  tears,  and  he  reached  out  his 
calloused  hand,  calloused  for  me,  and  said: 
*  You  are  going  away  from  home,  William, 
and  all  you  have  in  this  world  is  your 
good  name.  Keep  that.  Attend  church 
every  Sabbath  regularly  somewhere,  and 
you  will  come  out  all  right/  I  promised 
him  I  would.  I  went  away  very  sad,  but 
determined  to  keep  my  promise. 

*'  For  one  whole  year.  Sabbath  after  Sab- 
bath, I  attended  one  church,  and  sat  in  the 
40 


B  UravcUng  Companion 

same  seat,  and  no  one  ever  intimated  that 
he  thought  I  had  a  soul ;  and  I  was  never 
sufficiently  acquainted  with  a  member  of 
the  church  or  congregation  to  be  on 
speaking  terms ;  yet,  at  times,  my  sense  of 
guilt  was  overwhelming,  and  oh  for  a 
friend!  *Say  not  ye,  There  are  yet  four 
months,  and  then  cometh  harvest  ?  .  . .  Lift 
up  your  eyes,  and  look  on  the  fields ;  for 
they  are  white  already  unto  harvest.' " 
Could  there  be  better  evidence  that  he 
realized  a  Christian's  duty,  and  that  he 
wanted  every  Christian  to  do  that  duty  ? 

In  the  country  neighborhood  where  this 
new  worker  for  Christ  had  his  present 
home,  the  church  and  Sunday-school  were 
closed,  and  there  was  no  one  to  lead  in  an 
effort  for  their  re-opening.  So  he  opened 
the  Sunday-school,  and  soon  had  sixty 
pupils  connected  with  it.  He  was  superin- 
tendent and  principal  teacher,  and  was  a 
blessing  in  that  neighborhood.  He  asked 
if  I  could  not  come  up  and  show  him  what 
to  do,  and  how  to  do  it.     Accordingly,  I 

AT. 


UnMviDual  IKflorft 

went  to  his  home  and  field,  in  Vermont, 
and  was  gladdened  by  what  I  saw  of  his 
faithful  work  among  needy  souls.  But  I 
felt  that  I  had  learned  more  from  him  than 
he  had  from  me. 

How  many  souls  there  are  waiting  and 
longing  to  be  blessed,  as  that  Vermont 
boy  waited  and  longed  in  his  first  year 
away  from  home!  One  day,  on  Broad- 
way, I  noticed  a  crowd  about  a  little  child. 
Pushing  in  among  others,  I  saw  that  it 
was  a  strayed  child.  He  was  lost,  and 
he  knew  no  way  of  finding  himself  or 
his  dear  ones.  Seeing  my  look  of  tender 
sympathetic  interest  in  him,  the  child 
looked  up,  and  stretched  out  his  hand  to 
me,  saying,  in  pleading  tones,  "  Won't  you 
please  to  show  me  my  way  home  ?  "  That 
cry  has  been  sounding  in  my  ears  ever 
since,  when  I  find  myself  near  a  wander- 
ing soul  like  that  Vermont  boy  in  the  city, 
and  like  others  who  are  about  us  on  every 
side,  as  we  ride  and  as  we  walk.  There  is 
work  enough  to  do  for  Christ  if  only  we 
42 


a  traveling  Companton 

will  help  the  individuals  near  us  who  need 
our  help,  and  who  are  ready  to  be  helped. 


It  is  a  singular  fact  that  many  a  Chris- 
tian father,  who  can  speak  freely  on  the 
subject  of  personal  religion  to  a  stranger, 
or  to  an  ordinary  neighbor  or  acquaint- 
ance, seems  to  shrink  from  a  direct  word 
on  this  subject  with  his  own  child.  This 
is,  in  a  sense,  like  the  feeling  of  the 
preacher  who  can  freely  make,  from  the 
pulpit,  appeals  for  Christ  to  a  large  con- 
gregation, but  who,  somehow,  feels  re- 
strained from  urging  a  single  individual,  as 
he  is  face  to  face  with  him,  to  surrender 
himself  to  Christ.  I  have  had  evidence  of 
this  fact,  in  many  a  case,  to  my  surprise ; 
and  I  have  been  even  asked  by  godly 
fathers  to  speak  on  this  subject  to  their 
children,  because  they  felt  themselves  in- 
competent to  do  so.  To  think  of  it!  A 
Christian  father  hesitating  to  speak  with 
his  own  child  about  the  Saviour  who  loves 
them  both,  and  whom  the  child  needs. 
43 


One  Sunday  evening,  when  I  was  at  the 
house  of  a  New  England  clergyman,  where 
I  was  to  pass  the  night,  I  was  speaking  to 
him  of  his  son,  whom  I  had  seen,  and  who 
had  impressed  me  favorably.  The  father 
said  that  his  son  was  a  good  boy,  but  he 
was  entirely  ignorant  of  his  attitude  toward 
Christ.  He  had  never  passed  a  word  with 
him  on  this  subject.  His  son  seemed  to 
be  no  more  to  his  father,  so  far  as  this  was 
concerned,  than  was  any  member  of  his 
congregation  who  had  never  called  at  the 
pastor's  study  for  religious  conversation,  or 
had  "  risen  for  prayers  *'  in  a  church  prayer- 
meeting. 

The  next  morning,  as  I  was  to  drive 
several  miles  to  take  an  early  train  to  my 
city  home,  I  was  glad  to  find  that  this  son 
was  to  accompany  me.  While  it  was  yet 
too  early  for  us  to  see  each  other's  faces, 
as  we  sat  on  the  same  seat  as  we  drove,  it 
was  not  too  early  for  us  to  come  very  near 
to  each  other  in  an  earnest  talk  about  our 
common  duty  and  privileges  in  Christ.  I 
44 


a  itravcung  u:ompamoii 

found  my  young  friend  ready  and  glad  to 
talk  on  the  subject.  He  evidently  wanted 
to  trust  himself  to  Christ,  only  he  was  not 
quite  sure  of  the  way  to  do  it  As  I 
pointed  the  plain  path  to  him,  and  urged 
his  entering  it,  he  seemed  more  than  glad 
to  trust  himself  to  the  Saviour  heartily, 
and  at  once. 

When  we  reached  our  destination  for  the 
morning,  the  young  man  thanked  me 
warmly,  and,  as  we  clasped  hands  heartily 
in  parting,  I  felt  that  it  had  been  a  profita- 
ble morning  for  both  of  us ;  and  I  thanked 
God  that  I  had  the  priceless  privilege  of 
helping  that  youth  into  the  kingdom,  as 
he  had  evidently  long  been  needing  and 
waiting  to  be  helped. 

Some  time  after  this,  I  addressed,  on  a 
Sunday  evening,  the  students  in  one  of  our 
great  universities.  At  the  close  of  the  ser- 
vice a  student  came  up  to  me,  calling  me 
by  name.  It  was  that  young  man.  He 
reminded  me  gratefully  of  our  talk  as  we 
drove  to  the  station  that  winter's  morning. 
4!^ 


His  resolve  of  then  had  never  wavered 
He  was  well  along  in  his  course  to  the 
Christian  ministry.  In  that  ministry  1 
hope  that  he  endeavored  to  reach  the 
one  person  near  him  by  a  timely  word  for 
Christ,  as  a  more  important  and  more 
hopeful  work  for  Christ  than  a  general 
appeal,  however  earnest,  to  a  whole  con- 
gregation. In  any  event,  it  was  in  that 
very  way  that  he  was  won. 


When  God  brings  us  alongside  of  ©nc 
whom  we  may  help,  or  may  feel  a  respon- 
sibility for,  we  are  not  to  consider  the  o1> 
stacles,  or  difficulties,  in  the  way.  God 
will  take  care  of  them.  Nor  are  we  to  be 
hindered  by  religious  or  denominational 
differences  that  seem  to  stand  between  us 
and  him.  The  question  is  not  whether  he 
is  a  Roman  Catholic,  or  a  Jew,  a  Muham- 
madan,  a  Mormon,  a  Maronite,  or  an  infidel. 
But  the  one  question  is,  Can  we  evidence 
to  him,  in  such  a  way  as  to  impress  on 
him,  and  to  deepen  his  sense  of  their 
46 


a  ^tavcuna  Companiofi 

preciousness,  the  surpassing  love  of  God 
and  the  blessed  fulness  of  the  spirit  of 
Christ  ?  We  are  not  to  risk  the  repelling 
of  him  by  making  prominent  the  things 
wherein  we  differ ;  but  we  are  to  approach 
him  at  the  one  "pomt  of  contact/*  that 
from  a  connection  at  that  point  the  electric 
current  of  sympathy  may  quiver  to  the 
extremities  of  his  very  being. 

In  my  limited  experience  with  humanity 
I  have  had  occasion  to  meet  and  converse 
as  to  personal  religion  with  individuals  of 
every  one  of  the  above-named  religions,  or 
non-religion,  as  well  as  with  many  others ; 
and  I  have  never  found  our  differences  a 
real  barrier  to  our  converse  or  to  the  cor- 
dial recognition  of  our  real  heart  sympathy. 
"  Every  heart  is  human,"  and  God's  love  is 
suited  to  the  need  of  every  human  heart 
Our  duty  is  to  follow  God's  lead,  nothing 
doubting. 

One  winter  Sunday  morning,  in  a 
country  place  in  Eastern  Massachusetts,  I 
(bund  myself  a  guest  in  the  home  of  the 
47 


inotvtouai  most 

superintendent  of  a  Sunday-school,  at  the 
anniversary  of  which  I  was  to  speak  in  the 
afternoon.  In  the  forenoon  of  that  day  I 
was  to  address  a  congregation  several  miles 
from  my  present  stopping-place.  My  host 
was  to  send  me  over,  in  his  home  team,  for 
my  forenoon  appointment  Accordingly  I 
found  myself,  that  very  cold  day,  tucked  in, 
under  a  heavy  robe,  in  close  quarters,  in 
the  buggy,  with  the  Irish  driver.  It  was 
evident  that  that  man  was  just  then  the 
'•every  creature"  in  the  world  for  me  to 
teach  the  gospel  to,  and  I  had  no  right  to 
expect  a  blessing  on  my  labors  for  the  rest 
of  the  day  if  I  failed  in  my  duty  to  him 
while  on  my  way  to  my  next  appoint- 
ment 

To  begin  with,  I  told  my  seat-mate 
whither  and  why  I  was  going.  This  was 
to  indicate  my  confidence  in  him.  Then  I 
said,  as  showing  my  interest  in  him  and  his 
standpoint : 

"  You  are  a  Catholic,  I  suppose.** 
•  Yes,  sir/*  was  his  reply,  with  a  tone 
48 


M  (ttavciing  Compamic(K« 

that  seemed  to  indicate  a  conscious  barrier 

between  us. 

I  at  once  spoke  of  several  Roman  Catho- 
lic bishops  and  priests  with  whom  I  was  in- 
timate, and  whom  I  valued,  and  then  asked, 

**  Have  you  a  Catholic  Church  in  the 
village?" — which  we  had  just  left 

**  There  is  no  church  there  yet,  sir.  But 
a  priest  comes  over  once  in  four  weeks,  and 
says  mass." 

**  When  is  the  next  time  for  his  coming?* 
I  asked. 

"  He's  there  to-day,  sir." 

"Then  Vm  keeping  you  away  from 
mass.     How  sorry  I  am  for  this  I  ** 

**  Oh !  it's  all  right,  sir.  I'm  glad  to  go 
with  you,  sir." 

We  were  on  the  same  plane  by  this 
time.  It  was  now  my  duty  to  improve 
this  advantage.    And  I  began : 

**  You  say  you're  a  Catholic ;  are  you  a 

good   Catholic?      Do   you   honestly  love 

God,  and  trust  your  blessed  Saviour,  as  you 

are  taught,  by  your  church,  is  your  duty?" 

49 


InDtPiOuai  "CClorft 

*  rm  afraid  I'm  not  a  good  Catholic,  sir, 
Fm  afraid  I  do  not  do  my  duty.*' 

What  better  start  could  you  ask  for  an 
earnest  talk  with  a  nominal  Protestant,  if 
he  were  known  to  be  cold  and  indifferent, 
or  a  backslider,  and  you  wanted  to  arouse 
him  to  deep  and  intense  feeling  in  the  truth 
of  truths  ?  At  this  starting-point  I  pressed 
home  the  truth : 

**  My  friend,  when  we  think  of  what  the 
blessed  Jesus  did  for  us,  how  he  left  his 
glorious  home  in  heaven,  and  became  a 
babe  in  a  manger  to  begin  with,  and  then 
toiled  on  here  and  suffered  for  years,  and 
was  despised  and  rejected  of  men,  and  was 
crucified  and  died,  in  proof  of  his  love  for 
us,  and  of  his  Father's  love,  in  order  that 
we  can  be  saved,  is  it  asking  or  expecting 
too  much  of  us  that  we  should  show  our 
gratitude  in  the  little  things  that  Christ 
asks  of  us?" 

"No,  sir,  it  is  not.** 

And  of  this  sacred  theme  we  talked 
together  pleasantly,  on  that  carriage  seat, 
50 


21  XLiavciing  Compantoti 

that  Sunday  morning,  until  we  reached  ouf 
destination.  My  new  host,  a  clergyman, 
welcomed  me  to  his  home,  while  he  di- 
rected the  driver,  with  his  horse,  to  the 
stable.  On  entering  the  parsonage,  I  said 
to  the  pastor  that,  as  the  day  was  very 
cold,  I  should  be  glad  to  have  the  driver 
invited  into  the  kitchen  out  of  the  cold. 
Accordingly,  he  went  to  the  barn  to  invite 
the  man  in.  Returning,  the  pastor  told  me 
that  the  man  said  he  wished  to  go  to 
the  church  to  hear  the  gentleman  preach 
that  he  had  just  brought  over. 

As  I  rose  in  the  pulpit,  I  saw  my  seat- 
mate  of  the  morning  facing  me  in  a  pew. 
What  he  had  heard  from  me  about  his 
Saviour,  and  about  his  duty  to  that  Sa- 
viour, had  apparently  sharpened  his  appe- 
tite for  more.  I  confess  that  some  of  the 
words  of  my  address  that  morning  were 
for  that  one  hearer,  rather  than  for  the 
body  of  the  congregation.  Then,  as  at 
many  times  before  and  since,  one  person 
more  to  me  than  many  persons.  As. 
St 


UnDtviDual  IDQlorft 

at  noon,  we  drove  back  together,  our  con« 
versation  was  again  on  the  theme  of 
themes,  with  fresh  comments  on  phases  of 
it  about  which  I  had  talked,  in  his  hear- 
ing, from  the  pulpit 

On  thinking  the  day's  work  over  at 
its  close,  I  realized,  not  that  a  Protestant 
and  a  Roman  Catholic  had  found  much 
that  they  could  talk  about  together  to 
their  mutual  spiritual  profit,  but  that  we 
two,  who  had  met  together  as  seat-mates 
on  that  cold  Sunday  morning's  ride,  might 
have  been  profited  by  the  talk,  even  had 
we  been  two  Presbyterian  elders  in  confer- 
ence in  revival  time.  "Go,  and  do  thou 
likewise/ 


3faitbtulne06  to  a  fcllovQ^:SBoav^cv 

According  to  Oriental  thought  and  cus^ 
torn,  one  with  whom  you  *'  break  bread,"  or 
with  whom  you  sit  at  meat,  is,  by  that  very 
fact,  in  covenant  with  you,  and  you  have 
sacred  duties  toward  him  that  must  not  be 
shirked  or  evaded.  Yet  many  a  Christian 
in  a  Christian  community  will  sit  at  th^ 
same  table  with  another,  as  a  fellow-boardef, 
for  weeks  or  months,  without  knowing 
anything  of  his  religious  or  spiritual  views 
or  wants.  Both  will  talk  freely  on  ordinary 
subjects,  but  the  subject  of  chief  impor- 
tance is  not  named  or  considered.  Is  this 
right?  Will  any  Christian  say  that  it  is? 
Is  it  right  toward  either  party?  How 
much  is  lost,  on  both  sides  by  such  a 
course  ? 

For  a  long  time  I  and  my  family  lived  at 
a  boarding-house  in  a  New  England  city. 
53 


lnDMt)ual  TKIlorli 

There  was,  during  that  period,  a  season  of 
special  religious  interest,  or  a  general  revival, 
in  that  city.  There  sat  at  the  same  table 
with  us  a  gentleman  and  his  wife,  who,  as 
we  knew,  were  not  confessing  Christians,  or 
church-members,  and  had  never  expressed 
to  us  any  particular  interest  in  the  revival 
movement  in  the  city.  One  noonday  I 
suggested  to  my  wife  that  we  ought  to 
speak  to  our  table  neighbors  personally  on 
the  subject,  and  urge  them  to  surrender 
themselves  to  Christ.  As  she  agreed  with 
me  as  to  our  duty,  I  proposed  that  while  I 
would  go  up  to  the  gentleman's  place  of 
business  and  have  a  loving  talk  with  him, 
she  should  seek  out  the  wife  in  her  room, 
and  plead  with  her  for  Christ.  This  was 
agreed  to.  Then  we  knelt  together  and 
asked  God's  blessing  on  our  efforts,  and  on 
those  in  whose  spiritual  welfare  we  were 
interested. 

The  gentleman  was  a  bank   officer.     I 
called  there  just  after  bank  hours,  knowing 
that  he  would  been  be  disengaged.     As  I 
u 


3faltbfulncs6  co  a  3fellow*3I5oar&et 

asked  him  fo^  an  interview,  he  invited 
me  into  the  directors*  room,  and  closed  the 
door.  When  I  spoke  of  my  loving  interest 
in  him,  and  of  my  purpose  in  calling,  he 
burst  into  tears,  and  said  that  he  was  so 
glad  I  had  come.  Then  he  told  me  how 
he  had  longed,  day  after  day,  for  some  one 
to  speak  to  him  on  this  subject  When 
men  came  in  who  were  prominent  and 
active  in  the  prayer-meetings,  he  had  tried, 
in  vain,  to  lead  the  conversation  to  the 
point  of  a  personal  word,  but  had  always 
failed.  How  adroit  some  Christians  are  in 
avoiding  the  subject  of  personal  religion  in 
business  places  and  in  business  hours !  I 
found  this  man  longing  to  be  helped  into 
the  kingdom,  and  glad  to  learn  the  way. 
That  was  an  ever-to-be  remembered  con- 
versation for  Christ 

When  I  went  back  to  the  house,  at  the 
close  of  the  afternoon,  my  wife  told  me, 
with  a  cheerful  face,  of  her  experience. 
After  my  leaving  her,  as  she  was  preparing 
to  go  to  the  room  of  the  wife  she  had  oa 
U 


•     inDtviDual  'GCiotR 

her  heart,  there  was  a  knock  at  her  door. 
As  she  opened  the  door  that  wife  came  in, 
and,  bursting  into  tears,  she  asked  if  her 
friend  wouldn't  help  her  to  Christ.  She 
had  longed  to  be  spoken  to  by  some  one, 
and  now  she  could  bear  this  no  longer. 
The  two  wives  went  on  their  knees  to- 
gether, and  they  rose  with  glad  and  grate- 
ful hearts. 

That  husband  and  wife  soon  stood  up 
and  confessed  their  faith  together,  as  they 
connected  themselves  with  the  church. 
They  were  active  for  Christ  in  all  the  years 
until  they  entered  into  rest.  And  their 
children  were  prominent  and  useful  in 
Christ's  service  after  them. 

One  winter,  some  time  after  the  Civil 
War,  I  passed  a  number  of  weeks  in  a 
Southern  city,  with  a  young  friend  who 
was  necessitated  to  be  there  for  his  health. 
All  this  time  we  were  at  a  well-filled  board- 
ing-house. Most  of  the  persons  there  were 
those  whom  I  then  met  for  the  first  time. 
A  young  gentleman  who  sat  just  oppositf 
?6 


3faitbfulnc05  to  a  3FcUow*:fi3oar&ct 

me  at  the  table,  and  with  whom  I  naturally 
came  to  have  a  speaking  acquaintance,  was 
a  person  whose  habits  of  life  and  ordinary- 
occupations  were  obviously  different  from 
mine,  so  that  our  sympathy  would  not  be 
promoted  by  conferring  over  these.  In- 
deed, I  learned,  from  the  proprietor  of 
the  house,  that  when  he  understood  that 
a  New  England  army  chaplain  was  com- 
ing to  the  house  as  a  boarder  he  wanted 
to  leave  the  house  on  that  account,  and 
was  only  prevented  from  doing  so  by  the 
crowded  state  of  that  winter  resort. 

This  certainly  did  not  present  an  attrac- 
tive opening  for  personal  religious  conver- 
sation. Yet  I  had  learned  that  God  gives 
us  opportunities  and  responsibilities,  in  this 
line,  which  are  of  his  choosing  rather  than 
of  ours;  so  I  waited  for  signs  of  God's 
leading.  Meantime  I  endeavored  to  show 
to  my  table-mate  that  we  had  things  in 
common  that  were  to  be  recognized  and 
enjoyed.  To  win  his  confidence  to  me 
was  a  duty,  if  I  would  hope  to  lead  him 
57 


UnDlvlDual  morR 

tcjward  Christ.  Yet  the  weeks  passed  on, 
in  the  enjoyments  and  occupations  of  a 
crowded  Southern  hotel  life,  without  any 
single  opportunity  of  my  being  with  my 
friend  apart  from  others. 

Finally  the  day  of  my  departure  was  at 
hand.  After  my  last  dinner  at  this  house, 
I  went  to  my  room,  regretting  that  I  had 
never  said  a  word  for  Christ  to  one  in 
whose  welfare  I  was  interested,  although  I 
had  sat  at  the  same  table  with  him,  day 
after  day,  for  weeks.  I  remembered  my 
life-resolve,  and  felt  that  I  was  not  living 
up  to  It  in  this  case.  It  did  not  satisfy  me 
when  I  proffered  to  my  heart  the  excuse 
that  I  had  never  been  alone  with  him,  nor 
had  had  a  fitting  occasion  for  conferenca 
Was  it  not  worth  while  seeking  and  secur- 
ing an  occasion,  when  the  interests  of  an 
immortal  soul  were  involved  ? 

I  spoke  of  the  matter  to  my  room-mate 

and  companion,  for  whose  health  I  was  at 

the   South.     I   suggested   that   perhaps  it 

was  my  duty  to  go  to  the  room  of  my  fel- 

^» 


Ifaitbfulness  to  a  3PeUow*:fl5oart)et 

low-boarder  that  very  afternoon,  and  say  a 
word  to  him  for  Christ.  He  might,  indeed, 
take  offense  at  it,  but,  again,  he  might  not. 
Was  it  not  worth  while  taking  such  a  risk 
for  a  soul's  sake,  and  for  Christ's  ?  The  de- 
cision was  made.  We  kneeled  together  in 
our  room,  and  asked  God's  blessing  on  my 
undertaking.  Then  I  arose  and  started 
out.  The  room  of  my  fellow-boarder  and 
his  wife  was  but  just  across  the  hall  from 
ours.  Yet  it  was  not  an  easy  task  to  ven- 
ture on  knocking  at  that  room  door,  in  the 
fulfilment  of  my  purpose  and  my  duty. 

At  my  knock,  the  young  gentleman 
whom  I  sought  opened  the  door,  and  in- 
vited me  in.  His  wife  sat  on  a  sofa.  They 
welcomed  me  cordially,  and  when  I  told 
them  that  I  purposed  leaving  the  place  the 
next  morning  early,  they  expressed  regret, 
saying  that  our  intercourse  of  the  past  few 
weeks  had  been  very  pleasant.  I  replied 
that  I  had  enjoyed  knowing  them,  and  that 
it  was  because  of  my  growing  personal  in- 
terest in  them  that  I  had  now  called  at 
59 


UnDiviDual  Morft 

their  room.  Then  I  explained  thi*»  rfiy  joy 
in  Christ's  service  was  the  greatest  posses- 
sion of  my  Hfe,  and  that  because  I  longed 
for  my  fellow-boarders  to  have  that  joy,  I 
had  come  to  say  so.  The  gentleman  said 
that  it  was  kind  of  me  to  say  this,  and  that 
he  had  been  thinking  that  he  would  like  to 
know  more  about  the  religious  belief  I  had, 
so  that  he  might  share  it.  Would  I  tell 
him  what  books  he  should  read,  in  order 
to  learn  about  this  ? 

I  replied  that  I  could  mention  good 
books  for  him,  but  that  I  should  much 
prefer  to  talk  on  the  subject  with  him 
personally  in  detail. 

"  It  would  be  very  pleasant,"  he  said,  "to 
put  myself  under  your  guidance,  if  you 
would  instruct  me." 

"  But  I  leave  town  early  to-morrow 
morning,"  I  said,  "and  I  am  cut  off  by 
this  from  helping  you." 

On  his  asking  where  I  was  going,  and 
learning  that  I  was  to  visit  another  part  of 
the  South,  he  responded  that  he  would  be 
60 


Ifaitbfulneas  to  a  3fellow*3iSoatOer 

glad  to  accompany  me.  On  his  asking  his 
wife  if  that  would  be  agreeable  to  her,  she 
expressed  her  willingness  to  make  the 
move,  and  it  was  arranged  accordingly. 
Early  the  next  morning  the  boarder  who 
had  wanted  to  leave  that  house  when  he 
found  that  a  clergyman  was  coming  there, 
with  whom  he  could  have  no  sympathy, 
finally  left  the  house  with  that  clergyman 
in  order  that  he  might  be  personally  in- 
structed in  the  religion  which  he  had  come 
to  desire  as  his  own  possession.  Surely 
God  was  leading.  And  God  ever  leads 
those  who  are  willing  to  be  led,  even 
though  they  often  follow  reluctantly ! 

There  was  no  opportunity  for  a  quiet 
conversation  during  the  first  day,  while  wc 
were  constantly  within  hearing  of  others 
who  were  about  us  in  the  crowded  public 
conveyance  on  which  we  journeyed.  In 
the  early  evening,  we  found  ourselves  at  a 
small  hotel,  where  we  were  to  make  a  rest 
for  a  while.  My  companion  was  different 
from  any  one  with  whom  I  had  ever  con- 
6i 


TUnoivIDuai  TUQotft 

versed  personally  on  the  theme  of  themes. 
He  had  not  been,  while  a  child,  under  the 
religious  training  and  influences  with  which 
I  was  most  famihar.  Hence  there  seemed 
to  be  no  such  common  basis  for  a  prelimi- 
nary understanding  as  I  had  been  accus- 
tomed to  find.  Yet  this  necessitated  a 
coming  down  to  first  principles,  which, 
after  all,  had  its  decided  advantages  in 
such  a  conference  as  this. 

*'  My  friend,  would  you  like  to  be  saved?  " 
I  asked  at  the  start. 

*'  Indeed  I  would,"  he  replied. 

**  Do  you  think  that  you  can  save  your- 
self?" 

"  I  certainly  do  not,'*  was  his  response. 

"Do  you  know  of  any  Saviour  to  be 
trusted  except  one?" 

"  I  do  not,"  he  said  heartily. 

*'  Well,  now,"  I  said,  "  there  is  no  neces- 
sity of  your  reading  any  books  on  the  sub- 
ject, to  learn  the  way  of  salvation.  Let  me 
see,  here  and  now,  if  you  are  willing  to  be 
saved  by  the  one  Saviour  in  his  own  way, 
6i 


yaitbfulneas  to  a  3fellow*:fi3oarDet 

Understand  that  I  do  not  make  any  condi- 
tions or  requirements  of  conduct  or  prac- 
tice,  in  order  for  you  to  be  saved ;  but  I 
will  ask  you  this  question,  in  order  to  ascer- 
tain your  attitude  toward  this  whole  sub- 
ject. Suppose  that  you  were  to  find  that 
Jesus  Christ  wanted  you  to  refrain  from 
drinking,  from  smoking,  from  card-playing, 
from  theater-going,  and  from  much  that 
accompanies  these  things,  would  you  give 
them  all  up,  or  would  you  feel  that  there 
were  some  of  these  things  that  you  could 
not  refrain  from?" 

My  friend  thought  the  matter  over  with 
evident  seriousness,  and  then  he  gave  this 
intelligent  answer: 

'*  Well,  Mr.  Trumbull,  there  are  some  of 
those  things  that  I  might  have  different 
views  from  yourself  about;  but  if  I  were 
convinced  that  Jesus  Christ  wanted  me  to 
refrain  from  any  one  of  those  things,  or 
from  them  all,  I  should  be  willing  to  con- 
form my  conduct  to  his  wish." 

**  That's  all  that  I  want  to  know,"  I  said 
«1 


InDiviDuai  moth 

"I  lay  down  no  requirements.  I  want  him 
who  is  to  be  your  Saviour  to  be  your 
guide.  Now  just  go  to  your  room  and 
kneel  down  before  the  Lord,  and  tell  him 
how  it  is.  Tell  him  that  you  need  a  Sav- 
iour, that  you  do  not  know  any  Saviour 
other  than  himself,  and  that  you  want  him 
to  save  you.  Tell  him  that  you  are  willing 
to  put  yourself  into  his  hands,  that  you  will 
conform  your  conduct  and  course  to  his 
wishes,  and  that  you  want  to  trust  him." 

Pressing  each  other's  hands,  we  parted 
for  the  night.  Of  course  I  prayed  for  him, 
but  I  prayed  trustfully.  When  I  met  him 
the  next  morning  I  asked  him  if  he  had 
done  as  he  promised  to.  As  he  said  that 
he  had,  I  inquired  if  he  felt  that  the  Saviour 
had  accepted  him. 

"  I  don't  suppose  that  he  has  yet,"  was 
his  reply. 

"  Why  not  ?  "  I  inquired. 

"  I  don't  suppose  that  Jesus  Christ  would 
accept  me  at  once,"  he  said. 

"Well,  then  the  responsibility  is  with 
64 


3Faitbtulne0S  to  a  ^ellow^JwoarDet 

him.  I  don't  see  that  you  have  anything 
more  to  do  about  it,"  was  my  reply. 

"  What  do  you  mean  ?  "  he  asked,  with  a 
surprised  look. 

**  Why,  if  you  have  gone  to  the  only 
Saviour  there  is,  and  have  offered  yourself 
to  him,  telling  him  you  are  willing  to 
shape  your  course  by  his  directions,  and 
he  is  not  ready  to  accept  you,  but  wants  to 
wait  awhile,  there  seems  to  be  nothing  else 
for  y  ju  to  do." 

"  Do  you  mean,"  he  asked,  "that  I  ought 
to  believe  that  Jesus  Christ  at  once  accepts 
me,  and  that  I  can  fully  trust  him  now  as 
my  Saviour  ?  '* 

"  That  certainly  is  the  way  I  understand 
it,"  I  said.  "  I  can't  see  any  other  way.  It 
seems  to  be  that  or  nothing." 

"Then  I'll  do  that,"  he  said  earnestly, 
and  he  evidently  meant  what  he  said. 

From  that  hour  he  was  an  earnest,  devoted 

follower  of  Christ,  as  I  was  familiar  with 

him    for   precious   years   and   in   different 

spheres.     He  became  a  close  student  of  the 

65 


UnDtviOual  mork 

Bible,  ^ic  and  his  wife  together  made  an 
open  confession  of  their  new  faith,  and  con- 
nected themselves  with  a  prominent  church 
in  New  York  City.  They  became  active 
in  mission-school  work,  and  in  that  field  he 
devoted  his  trained  business  mind  to  per- 
fecting methods  and  systems  of  work,  so 
that  he  was  known  widely  throughout  the 
country  as  a  leader  and  guide  in  that  field. 
He  became,  after  a  while,  prominent  as  one 
of  the  most  influential  workers,  and  di^  xtor 
of  other  workers,  in  the  entire  country. 
Then  I  was,  indeed,  glad  that  God  would 
not  let  me  leave  that  winter-resort  boarding- 
house  without  going  to  the  room  of  that 
fellow-boarder  and  telling  him  of -Iny  desire 
for  his  spiritual  welfare. 

In  his  personal  habits  and  conduct  he 
became  strict  and  careful,  in  the  line  of 
our  talk  that  evening  at  the  little  hotel, 
where  we  stopped  on  the  way  from  our 
winter  resort.  When  I,  later,  told  Dr. 
Bushnell,  to  whom  I  had  introduced  the 
young  gentleman,  of  that  conversation,  and 
66 


3faitbfulnc6£i  to  a  Jellow^JSoacDa 

of  the  outcome  of  it,  the  good  Doctoi 
said,  characteristically : 

*'  That  shows  how  much  easier  it  is  to  do 
a  big  thing  than  a  little  thing.  If  you  had 
begun  to  discuss  with  this  man,  at  that 
time,  any  single  habit  or  practice,  you 
might  never  have  got  beyond  it.  You 
would  have  been  stranded  on  the  first  bar- 
rier. But  to  ask  him  to  trust  the  whole 
thing  to  his  Saviour,  and  be  guided  by  him, 
was  the  better  way.  If  one  is  right  at  the 
center,  he  is  likely  to  get  right  at  the  cir- 
cumference." 

What  a  Saviour  we  have,  both  to  trust 
and  to  tell  others  of;  and  how  good  it  is 
to  work  for  him  ! 


One  Sunday  I  passed  with  a  near  rela- 
tive. There  I  met  a  gentleman  whom  I 
had  never  seen  before,  but  who  was  con- 
nected with  my  relative.  I  sat  with  him  at 
the  table,  and  we  had  pleasant  conversa- 
tion. In  the  evening  this  gentleman  was 
out  at  a  church  service,  and  the  lady  of 
67 


UnOiviDual  THnorft 

the  house  was  suffering  with  a  headache. 
I  urged  her  to  retire,  while  I  would  sit  up 
and  close  the  house  after  the  visitor  came 
in.  As  I  did  this,  I  sat  by  the  sitting-room 
fire,  on  the  cold  winter  night.  When  the 
visitor  was  in,  and  the  house  was  closed,  we 
still  sat  together  there. 

He  spoke  of  the  service  that  he  had  at- 
tended, and  he  was  evidently  much  im- 
pressed by  the  sermon. 

"You  don't  often  hear  a  sermon  like 
that,  especially  from  such  a  minister,"  he 
said.  "The  minister  brought  us  right  up 
face  to  face  with  the  Judgment  Seat,  and 
there  he  left  us.  There  were  no  soft  words 
to  ease  us  down,  such  as,  *  But  I  trust  this 
is  not  for  you,  my  brethren.'" 

Then,  as  if  soliloquizing,  as  he  sat  there 
looking  into  the  fire,  he  added : 

"  I  tell  you  that,  in  the  great  day,  we 
who  go  over  to  the  left  hand  will  not  feel 
very  kindly  toward  the  men  who  have 
glossed  this  thing  over,  when  they  had  a 
chance  to  tell  us  the  plain  truth." 
68 


faltbtulne56  to  a  ^ellowsJBoar&ct 

The  impressed  man  was  much  older  than 
myself,  old  enough,  perhaps,  to  be  my 
fether;  but  he  had  been  brought  to  my 
side  in  a  condition  of  mind  to  need  help ; 
and  I  was  there  to  speak  for  Jesus.  It  was 
not  a  question  of  seniority,  nor  of  long 
acquaintance,  to  be  considered  by  one  who 
represented  the  Eternal.  Laying  my  hand 
lovingly  on  his  knee,  as  he  sat  by  my  side 
looking  thoughtfully  into  the  fire,  I  said : 

**  My  friend,  what  do  you  mean  by  speak- 
ing of  *  we  who  go  over  to  the  left  hand'? 
You  belong  on  the  right  hand,  and  you 
ought  to  recognize  this.  The  judge  is 
your  Saviour.  You  ought  to  trust  him 
fully  as  such." 

"  I  suppose  I  ought  to,"  he  responded 

"Well,  do  you  not?" 

"I  can't  say  I  do." 

At  this  I  drew  my  chair  around  so  that 
I  could  look  directly  into  his  face,  and  I 
said  earnestly,  feeling  the  full  force  of  my 
words : 

•'This  is  God's  doing,  and  you  must  rcc* 
6q 


UnDlvlDual  mom 

ognize  it  God  has  brought  us  to  this 
house  to  meet  for  the  first  time  in  our 
liveSo  He  has  planned  it  so  that  you 
should  go  out  to  that  evening  service,  and 
hear  that  impressive  appeal  And  now, 
while  all  others  m  the  house  are  asleep,  you 
and  1  sit  here  facing  the  question  of  ques- 
tions for  your  soul.  I  cannot  leave  you 
until  you  settle  it  I  speak  for  the  Saviour 
when  I  urge  you  to  commit  yourself  to 
him  for  now  and  forevermore,** 

Then,  reaching  out  my  hand,  I  said: 
"My  friend,  you  realize  what  all  this 
means,  and  its  importance.  Now,  prom- 
ise me  that  this  night,  before  you  sleep, 
you  will,  on  your  knees,  tell  your  loving, 
longing,  waiting  Saviour,  that  youVe  de- 
layed this  thing  altogether  too  long,  but 
that  you  won't  do  so  any  longer.  Tell  him 
that  you  trust  him  because  he  is  the  Sav- 
iour, and  you  are  one  whom  he  wants  to 
save.  Give  me  your  hand  on  this,  my 
friend,  and  then  go  to  your  room  and  do 
what  you  know  to  be  your  duty." 
70 


f attfttuinesd  to  a  3fellow*JBoarDef 

My  companion  evidently  felt  that  it  was 
A  crisis  hour  with  him,  and  he  could  not 
evade  the  sense  of  this.  My  hand  was  out- 
stretched to  him.  For  some  time  he  said 
not  a  word,  but  I  saw  that  he  was  quiver- 
ing with  intense  emotion.  Meanwhile  I 
was  praying  in  my  heart  for  a  blessing  on 
him  in  his  conflict  of  soul.  Then,  with  a 
convulsive  movement  that  shook  his  strong 
frame,  he  put  out  his  right  hand  and 
clasped  mine  as  though  it  were  for  life.  I 
realized  that  he  had  given  himself  to  his 
Saviour.  Rising,  I  asked  God's  blessing 
on  him,  and  bade  him  good-night,  and  we 
parted.  I  went  to  my  room  for  the  night, 
and  to  pray  for  him,  and  he  went  to  his 
room  to  pray  for  himself. 

Before  he  came  downstairs  in  the  morn- 
ing I  left  for  my  home.  I  never  saw  him 
again.  Before  the  day  closed  he  left  that 
house  for  his  home.  By  a  severe  railroad 
accident,  on  his  way  home,  he  was  fatally 
injured,  and  soon  he  was  with  the  Saviour 
to  whom  he  had  trusted  himself.  A 
71 


UnDiviDual  iKIlorh 

younger  brother  of  his  was  an  office-bearer 
in  one  of  the  Fifth  Avenue  churches  in 
New  York.  When  he  learned  .that  the 
loved  brother  had  thus  comriiitted  himself 
to  the  Saviour  while  he  was  yet  in  life  and 
strength,  he  was  indeed  rejoiced  and  grate- 
ful.   And  we  thanked  God  together. 


^ 


VI 

TKaorft  tot  Single  Souls  in  Hrmi?  Xifc 

In  army  life,  as  in  quiet  home  life,  the 
way  to  reach  the  many  is  to  reach  the  one. 
The  best  way  to  get  one's  ear  is  to  have 
his  ear  alone.  Although  in  my  three  years 
of  army  life  I  was  rarely  away  from  the 
many,  I  found,  there  as  elsewhere,  that  my 
best  work  for  Christ  was  not  in  public 
address,  but  in  watching  for  opportunities, 
or  in  improving  unlooked-for  occasions, 
when  I  could  speak  from  my  heart  to 
another's  heart,  without  being  heard  by 
another,  even  if  others  were  near  us.  All 
my  army-life  experience  tended  to  convince 
me  that  this  was  the  best  way  to  work  for 
Christ  with  souls. 

My  first  experience  under  fire  was  on  a 

winter  Sunday  in  Eastern  North  Carolina. 

We   had  bivouacked  for  the  night  in  an 

op<»n  field,  when  starting  on  a  raid  into 

73 


TlnDlviDual  "QXIlorft 

the  enemy's  country.  As  we  rose  in  the 
early  morning  to  make  ready  for  a  march, 
the  blazing  camp-fires,  on  every  side,  throw- 
ing their  lurid  light  on  the  stacked  arms, 
and  the  moving  soldiers,  with  the  hum  of 
conflicting  voices,  made  a  weird  and  im- 
pressive scene;  and  as  I  heard  for  the  first 
time  the  command,  to  a  company  near 
where  I  stood,  "  Load  at  will,"  followed  by 
the  ring  of  the  rammers  in  the  steel  rifle 
barrels  driving  home  the  cartridges,  I  was 
thrilled  by  the  sounds  as  never  before. 
Realizing,  as  I  did,  that  when  those  rifles 
were  discharged  it  would  be  in  deadly  con- 
flict, and  that  before  the  day  should  close 
some  of  the  brave  men  near  me  would 
probably  be  in  the  presence  of  their  Maker, 
I  had  a  sense  of  responsibility  for  souls  as 
never  before,  yet  as  often  afterwards. 

Moving  about  among  the  fire-lit  groups, 
and  looking  for  a  man  standing  by  himself, 
I  came  upon  a  soldier,  a  bright  Connecticut 
boy,  with  whom  I  had  often  spoken  in 
camp.     He  was  arranging  his  belt  at  the 

74 


taiotft  for  Single  Souls  in  Hrms  %itc 

moment  I  spoke  to  him  cheerily  of  the 
activities  of  the  hour,  and  of  the  possibili- 
ties of  the  coming  day.  Then  I  asked  him 
tenderly  if  he  had  committed  himself  trust- 
fully to  his  Saviour. 

"  Ah,  Chaplain !  This  is  no  time  to 
think  of  such  things.  It  would  unfit  me 
for  a  fight  if  I  got  to  thinking  about  my- 
self just  now." 

"  It  IS  always  a  time.  Sergeant,  for  think- 
ing about  Him  who  is  able  to  care  for  us 
in  every  hour  of  life  or  of  death,  and  who 
loves  us  more  than  we  can  ever  love  him. 
But  if  you  don't  want  to  talk  about  this 
now  I  shall  come  to  you  when  we  are 
back  in  camp,  if  we  get  there  together 
once  more ;  and  then,  certainly,  I  can  have 
a  good  talk  with  you  about  this  matter,  for 
I  want  you  to  do  your  duty." 

Our  raid  was  a  successful  one,  and  soon 
we  were  back  in  camp  once  more.  I  looked 
up  my  young  sergeant  friend,  and  told 
him  that  I  had  come  to  renew  our  conver- 
sation of  the  morning  after  our  first  night's 
75 


UnDtvtDual  WiotK 

bivouac,  on  the  recent  raid.  I  had  a  plain 
earnest  talk  with  him.  He  promised  to  go, 
in  need  and  trust,  to  his  Saviour,  and  com* 
mit  himself  to  him  for  life  and  death.  Af- 
ter a  while,  when  we  were  in  St.  Augustine, 
we  organized  a  regimental  church,  and 
this  young  sergeant  was  the  first  one  to 
stand  up  and  make  a  confession  of  his 
Saviour,  in  the  presence  of  his  regimental 
comrades  and  others.  Later  he  connected 
himself  with  his  home  church  in  Connecti- 
cut, on  my  certificate  of  his  confession  of 
faith  while  in  army  life  in  the  South. 

That  experience  with  my  first  young 
convert  in  the  army  encouraged  me  in  my 
individual  work  with  individuals  there.  I 
saw  that  it  were  better  to  make  a  mistake 
in  one's  first  effort  at  a  personal  religious 
conversation,  and  correct  that  mistake 
afterwards,  than  not  to  make  any  effort. 
There  can  be  no  mistake  so  bad,  in  work- 
ing for  an  individual  soul  for  Christ,  as  the 
fatal  mistake  of  not  making  any  honest 
endeavor.  How  many  persons  refrain  from 
76 


^orft  for  Single  Souls  in  acmg  TLitc 

doing  anything  lest  they  should  possibly 
do  the  wrong  thing  just  now!  Not  doing 
is  the  worst  of  doing.  "  Inasmuch  as  ye 
did  it  not,  depart  from  me,"  is  a  foretold 
sentence  of  the  Judge  of  all. 


When  first  I  joined  my  regiment  in 
North  Carolina,  I  found  there  a  young 
lieutenant,  whom  I  had  known  as  an  ac- 
tive, earnest  Christian  worker  in  his  Con- 
necticut home.  As  I  was  looking  up  the 
members  of  my  new  charge,  I  called  on 
him  in  his  tent,  and  said  something  of  my 
hope  to  have  his  help  in  work  for  my 
Master. 

*'  No,  no.  Chaplain,"  said  he,  "  I've  given 
up  all  that  stuff.  I  know  now  that  there's 
no  truth  in  it,  and  I  don't  want  to  hear  a 
word  on  the  subject." 

"  You  are  not  saying  now  what  you  be- 
lieve, Lieutenant." 

"  What  do  you  mean,  Chaplain  ?  " 

"  I  mean  that  I  know  you  well  enough 
to  understand  that  what  you  said  and  did, 
77 


motvmual  motR 

for  years,  in  your  faithful  Christian  work 
and  in  your  Sunday-school  teaching,  has 
not  been  given  up  by  you  out  of  your  in- 
most heart  You  can  talk  this  way  to  me 
now,  to  try  to  stiffen  up  your  courage  of 
resistance;  but  when  the  camp  is  quiet, 
and  you  are  alone  on  your  bunk  in  the 
darkness,  you  would  never  talk  in  this  way 
to  your  God,  who  you  know  is  near  you 
always." 

"Well,"  he  said,  somewhat  more  gently, 
**  I  don*t  want  to  talk  about  this  subject,  at 
any  rate." 

"  But  I  must  talk  about  it,"  I  said  "It's 
very  real  to  me.  And  Tm  here  because 
of  my  belief.  I  love  you  too  dearly  to 
refrain  from  speaking  to  you,  and  urging 
you  to  come  back  to  your  old  love  and 
faith  and  duty  and  joy." 

Weeks  passed  on.  When  I  saw  the  Lieu- 
tenant in  his  tent  I  would  show  him  that  I,  at 
least,  hadn't  lost  my  faith;  yet  I  refrained 
from  provoking  any  discussion  on  the  sub* 
iect  ^^e  seemed  to  be  grateful  for  my  in- 
78 


tanorft  tot  SixxQic  Souie  m  Brmp  Utte 

terest  in  him,  and  he  never  again  gave  an 
expression  of  his  unbelief,  nor  did  he  say 
that  which  would  jar  on  me.  I  tried  to 
reach  him  by  indirect  means,  in  talking 
about  former  interests  and  persons  con- 
nected with  our  work  together  for  our 
common  Master,  In  this  way,  at  times, 
the  truth  we  had  both  then  held  dear 
would  come  into  prominence;  but  no 
word  of  unpleasant  difference  was  a  result 

After  a  little  there  came  on  a  battle  in 
which  our  regiment  lost  severely.  Several 
temporaty  hospitals  were  opened  in  small 
•dwelling-houses  in  different  parts  of  the 
field  of  action.  As  I  was  occupied  in  one 
of  these  hospitals,  I  heard  that  my  lieu- 
tenant friend  lay  wounded  in  another.  As 
soon  as  I  had  opportunity,  I  went  over  to 
see  him.  His  right  leg  had  been  ampu- 
tated near  the  hip.  He  lay  on  a  cot  among 
many  wounded.  Looking  up  as  I  &p^ 
proached  he  said  cheerily : 

"The  Lord  has  got  me,  Chaplain.  I 
wouldn't    serve   him    with   two   legs,   so 

79 


InDlvlDual  TlQlotft 

he  took  away  one.  But  now  III  be  more 
of  a  man  with  one  leg  than  I  was  with 
two." 

Then  as  I  spoke  warmly  of  my  sympathy 
with  and  mterest  in  him,  he  told  of  his 
experience  and  feelings. 

"As  my  leg  went  out  from  under  me, 
and  I  felt  I  was  gone,  I  said,  'The  Lord's 
got  me,  and  Fm  glad  of  it*  You  were 
right.  Chaplain,  that  day  you  came  to  my 
tent  first,  I  never  really  gave  up  my  belief, 
or  had  any  rest  in  my  life  trying  to  live 
without  faith.  And  now  I  believe  I  shall 
live  nearer  the  Lord  than  ever,  and  have 
more  comfort  m  him." 

He  was  confident  that  he  should  soon  be 
restored  to  health,  and  that  he  should  use 
his  new  strength  in  the  Lord^s  service.  I 
had  pleasant  interviews  with  him  as  he 
talked  of  his  plans  in  Christ's  service,  and 
he  gave  convincing  evidence  of  his  Chris- 
tian  love  and  faith.  But  the  shock  of  the 
amputation  was  severer  than  he  at  first  sup- 
posed, and  he  soon  sank  away  to  his  final 


HWiotft  tot  Smaie  BouiB  m  amiK  anu 

wist     The  prodigal  had  returned  to  his  lor* 
ing  Father's  home. 


Army-transport  life  gave  many  ar,  op- 
portunity of  personal  work  with  souls,  as 
well  as  did  public  preaching.  Along  the 
Atlantic  coast  the  Civil  War  demanded 
frequent  and  varied  use  of  transports.  At 
one  time  in  North  Carolina  our  division 
made  a  raid  into  the  interior  of  the  state, 
cutting  itself  off  from  its  base  of  supplies, 
and  exposing  itself  to  capture  by  a  force 
of  the  enemy  in  its  rear.  It  seemed,  both 
to  us  and  to  the  enemy,  that  we  were  hope- 
lessly hemmed  in ;  but,  at  the  close  of  the 
day  in  which  we  had  accomplished  the 
main  object  of  our  raid,  we  turned  directly 
toward  a  river,  and  on  reaching  its  banks 
found  a  number  of  small  vessels  waiting 
there  to  receive  us,  in  accordance  with  the 
plan  of  our  commanding  general.  These 
transports  had  been  brought  up  to  this 
point  so  that  we  might  board  them,  and 
quietly  slip  down  the  stream  during  the 
8x 


night,  thus  flanking  the   force  that  liad 

come  into  our  rear. 

Boarding  those  vessels  and  getting  under 
way  was  an  exciting  movement  If  the 
enemy  discovered  our  position  in  season  to 
attack  us  before  we  were  fairly  started, 
there  was  little  hope  of  escape  for  us.  The 
skipper  of  the  craft  on  which  our  regiment 
embarked  was  a  character.  He  felt  the 
responsibilities  of  the  hour,  and  he  gave 
evidence  of  this  in  his  superabundant  pro- 
fanity accompanying  every  order  which  he 
issued.  I  had  never  heard  such  abounding 
and  varied  oaths  as  he  poured  out  in  the 
half-hour  from  the  time  we  began  to  come 
on  board  till  we  were  fairly  afloat  and 
were  moving  down  the  stream.  Of  course, 
then  was  no  time  to  begin  preaching  to 
him,  I  could  merely  watch  and  study 
him.     But  that  I  did,  with  real  interest 

When,  at  last,  all  was  quiet,  and  the 

evening  had  come  on,  and  the  old  skipper 

was  evidently  gratified  with  the  success  of 

the  movement  so  far,  I  accosted  him  with 

8s 


miotft  toe  single  Sonia  tn  Sltrnv  im 

complimentary  words  as  to  the  skill  and 
energy  he  had  shown  in  his  command. 
This  opened  up  a  conversation,  in  the 
course  of  which  he  told  of  other  exciting 
experiences  he  had  had  in  other  parts  of 
the  world.  I  listened  attentively,  and  he 
saw  that  I  was  appreciative  and  sympa- 
thetic. Presently  he  spoke  of  a  particularly 
perilous  time  he  once  had  on  the  coast  ot 
Africa, 

"  Ah,    Captain  \    I    suppose    you    had 
charge  of  a  slaver  then,"  I  said. 

Seeing  that  he  had  "  given  himself  away," 
he  replied,  with  a  quiet  chuckle : 

"Yes,  Chaplain,  I've  been  up  to  purty 
nigh  ev'rythin',  in  my  time,  *cept  piety." 

"Well,  Captain,"  I  responded, " wouldn't 
it  be  worth  your  while  to  try  your  hand  at 
that  also  before  you  die,  so  as  to  make  the  ^ 
whole  round?" 

**Well,  I   suppose  that  would  be  fair. 
Chaplain." 

The  way  was  now  open  for  a  free  and 
kindly  talk.    As  we  stood  together  there. 


In&iviOual  XClotft 

on  the  vessel's  deck,  going  down  the 
stream  by  night,  we  talked  pleasantly  and 
earnestly,  and  I  got  at  the  early  memories 
of  his  boyhood  life  in  New  England. 
Then  I  knew  I  was  near  his  heart.  By 
and  by,  all  of  us  made  ready  for  the  night 
There  was  but  one  berth  in  the  cabin. 
That  was  the  captain's.  Our  officers  were 
to  sleep  on  the  cabin  floor.  The  captain 
said  to  me : 

"  Chaplain,  you  turn  in  in  my  stateroom. 
There's  a  good  berth  there." 

"No,  no,  thank  you.  Captain,"  I  said. 
*'  Let  the  Colonel  take  that." 

"  It  isn't  the  Colonel's  room ;  it's  mine, 
and  I  want  jou  to  take  it." 

"It  would  never  do,"  I  said,  "for  the 
Colonel  to  sleep  on  the  floor  while  I  slept 
in  a  berth.  But  I  thank  you  just  as  much 
for  your  kindness.  Captain." 

I  lay  down  with  the  other  officers  on  the 

cabin  floor.     While  I  was  asleep  I  felt  my* 

self  being  rolled  around,  and  I  found  that 

the  captain  had  pulled  his  mattress  out  of 

84 


Cdorft  tor  Single  Qowls  In  Brmg  %itc 

his  berth,  and  laid  it  on  the  floor,  and  he 
was  now  rolling  me  on  to  it.  I  appreciated 
the  gruff  kindness  of  the  old  slaver-skipper, 
and  my  heart  was  drawn  the  closer  to  this 
new  parishioner  of  mine.  Nor  did  I  lose 
my  hold  on  him  when  we  were  fairly  at 
New  Berne,  at  the  close  of  this  trip.  I  was 
again  with  him  in  the  waters  of  South  Caro- 
lina, and  he  came  again  and  again  to  our 
regimental  chapel -tent  on  St.  Helena 
Island  to  attend  religious  services  there. 
I  saw  that  I  had  a  hold  on  him. 

One  week-day  he  called  at  my  tent, 
having  a  brother  skipper  with  him,  whom 
he  introduced  to  me,  and  then  fell  back, 
leaving  us  together.  He  joined  my  tent- 
mate,  the  adjutant,  and  stood  watching 
while  I  talked  with  the  new  comer.  He 
told  the  adjutant,  with  a  string  of  oaths, 
that  his  foolish  friend  didn't  believe  there 
was  a  God,  so  he'd  "  brought  him  over 
here  for  the  chaplain  to  tackle."  It  was 
fresh  evidence  that  life  was  stirring  in  him, 
and  that  therefore  he  wanted  another  saved. 

85 


UnDiviDual  "©Ilorh 

When  the  war  was  over,  I  heard  of  that 
slaver-skipper  in  his  New  England  seaport 
home.  At  more  than  threescore  years  of 
age  he  had  come  as  a  little  child  to  be  a 
disciple  of  Jesus;  he  had  connected  himself 
with  the  church,  and  was  living  a  consis- 
tent Christian  life.  He  was  honestly  trying 
his  hand  at  "  piety  "  before  he  died,  and  so 
was  completing  the  round  of  life's  occu- 
pation.    For  this  I  was  glad. 


In  some  instances  I  was  not  sure  of  the 
result,  or  gain,  of  a  special  conversation  in 
the  army  on  the  subject  of  personal  religion, 
until  long  afterwards,  but  the  doing  of 
duty  never  depends  on  our  knowledge  of 
the  gain  or  results.  A  letter  came  to  me 
from  the  good  parents  of  a  Connecticut  boy 
in  our  regiment.  They  wanted  me  to 
reach  him,  for  Christ,  if  I  could,  while  they 
were  praying  for  him  and  for  me  in  their 
home.  I  took  this  as  laying  a  special  mis- 
sion on  me,  and  I  sought  him  out  at  once. 

I  found  him  in  our  regimental  hospital, 
86 


tKHorh  toe  Single  SouIb  in  :armg  Xite 

under  medical  treatment  just  then.  Al- 
though there  were  other  patients  in  the 
ward,  I  could  sit  down  by  his  cot  and  be 
practically  alone  with  him.  As  I  sat  there 
on  a  Sunday  afternoon  I  talked  of  his 
Connecticut  home,  with  which  I  was 
acquainted.  I  spoke  of  the  Sabbath  and 
its  influences,  as  it  was  in  the  country  in 
Connecticut,  in  contrast  with  what  it  was 
in  our  Southern  camp  life.  As  I  talked  I 
took  his  hand  in  mine  and  stroked  it  in 
tenderness. 

I  said  nothing  of  his  parents*  letter  to 
me,  but  I  spoke  of  their  loving  interest  in 
him,  and  of  the  certainty  that  such  parents 
were  praying  constantly  for  their  loved  son 
in  the  army.  I  urged  him  to  commit  him 
self  to  their  Saviour  as  his  Saviour.  As  I 
talked  this  way  I  saw  the  tears  dropping  o| 
both  our  hands,  and  I  knew  his  heart  was 
touched.  After  he  was  out  from  the  hos« 
pital,  I  saw  him  while  about  his  duties  in 
the  regiment,  and  I  had  pleasant  talks  witl| 
him  on  the  subject  of  which  I  had  spoken 

87 


in&iviDual  Wiovn 

in  the  hospital,  but  I  could  not  get  him  to 
commit  himself  to  a  positive  avowal  of  his 
surrender  and  his  trust 

But  the  time  came  when  the  young  sol- 
dier was  at  his  home  again,  when  the  war 
was  over.  Then  he  wrote,  thanking  me  for 
my  interest  in  him,  and  telling  me  that  be- 
cause of  it  he  was  going  to  stand  up  on 
a  Communion  Sunday,  in  the  old  home 
church,  where  his  father  was  a  deacon,  and 
confess  his  faith  in  that  father's  Saviour. 
Then  he  went  back  to  that  Sunday  in  the 
hospital  when  I  stroked  his  hand  and  his 
tears  fell  on  our  hands. 

"After  you'd  gone  out  that  day,  Chap- 
lain," he  said,  "I  cursed  you  because  of 
what  you'd  been  doing  and  saying.  I  was 
afraid  that  some  of  the  other  fellows  had 
seen  me  weeping;  and  I  said  you  were 
mean  to  take  advantage  of  a  fellow  when 
he  was  sick,  but  now  I'm  so  glad  you 
did  it- 

Again  he  wrote  other  letters  in  the  same 
grateful  strain.    Then  he  wrote  me  that  lie 


iWlorh  tor  Single  Souls  in  Brmg  %itc 

had  named  his  first  little  boy  after  his 
chaplain,  and  that  he  wanted  me  to  have 
an  interest  in  that  boy. 


One  evening,  as  I  was  returning  to  my 
evening  quarters,  I  saw  the  gleam  of  a  faint 
light  through  a  low  shelter-tent  in  our  regi- 
mental camp.  It  was  long  after  "  Lights 
Out "  had  been  sounded,  and  I  stooped  and 
scratched  at  the  tent  entrance  as  a  signal 
that  I  wanted  to  enter.  A  call,  "  Come  in," 
responded,  and  I  crept  in.  A  soldier,  seated 
on  the  ground,  was  writing  home  by  a  small 
tallow  candle,  and  I  knew  that  any  soldier 
was  in  an  accessible  mood  when  thinking 
of  his  home.  So  I  talked  with  him  about 
home,  A  sister,  a  devoted  Christian,  was, 
he  said,  very  dear  to  him.  She  had  urged 
him  to  yield  himself  to  Christ,  and  he  was 
writing  to  her  that  very  evening. 

I  felt  that  the  occasion  was  a  peculiar 

one^  and  I  must  improve  it     I  urged  him 

to  a  decision  at  that  very  time,  and  I  would 

not  consent  that  he  should  postpone  it.    I 

H 


tnOiviDual  mocr? 

fiaw  that  all  he  needed  was  to  come  to  the 
act  of  decision,  and  there  might  never  be  a 
better  moment  for  this  with  him  than  now. 
So  there  I  remained  with  him,  pleading  for 
Christ  until  far  into  the  night.  I  knew  that 
there  would  probably  never  be  "a  more 
convenient  season "  than  this.  And  his 
strong  New  England  mind  evidently  took 
m  this  fact  He  was  considering  the  mat- 
ter well  Finally,  he  voluntarily  knelt  with 
me  beneath  that  shelter-tent,  and  deliber- 
ately consecrated  himself  to  the  Saviour's 
care  and  service.  At  this  I  rejoiced  with 
him,  and  thanked  my  God  and  his,  Then^ 
giving  my  hand  to  him,  I  went  on  to  my 
quarters  with  a  happier  heart 

It  was  but  a  little  while  after  this,  that^ 
in  an  engagement  in  which  we  had  a  part, 
he  was  killed ;  and  as  I  said  earnest  words 
of  prayer  over  the  grave  in  which  we 
buried  him,  and  ss  I  looked  down  mto  his 
dead  face,  I  was  glad  that  I  waited  that 
memorable  night  until  he  knelt  by  my  side 
and  gave  himself  up  to  his  loving  and 


tCQlorft  tot  Single  Souls  tn  Brmfi  Xltfe 

waiting  Saviour.  And  when  I  wrote  to 
that  faithful  and  praying  sister,  and  told 
her  of  that  midnight  hour  of  his  deliberate 
consecration,  her  sister  heart  was  com- 
forted and  gladdened,  and  she  wrote  me 
grateful  words  for  my  interest  in  her  loved 
brother,  feeling  that  her  many  prayers  for 
him  had  been  answered. 

I  was  m  the  habit  of  inviting  soldiers  to 
come  to  my  tent,  or  other  quarters,  to  talk 
with  me  of  personal  religion.  Sometimes 
they  seemed  to  gain  little  help  by  such 
conversation.  At  other  times  a  few  words 
were  evidently  sufficient  for  their  needs, 
One  young  soldier,  from  an  adjoining  regi- 
ment, came  in  anxiety  as  to  his  spiritual 
condition-  I  tried  to  make  his  duty  and 
his  privilege  plain,  but  I  did  not  seem  to 
succeed.  I  prayed  with  and  for  him,  but 
he  did  not  find  peace.  He  said  that  he 
must  now  return  to  his  regiment,  but  he 
would  come  and  see  me  again. 

As  he  went  out,  I  handed  him  a  copy  of 

91 


Hn^tvtDuai  TlDlorft 

a  little  Soldier's  Hymn-Book,  whictt  was 
the  only  reading-matter  I  had  for  distribu- 
tion.  When  I  met  him  again,  his  face 
was  bright  with  the  cheeriness  of  glad 
hope.  As  I  asked  him  about  himself,  he 
replied : 

**  You  tried  to  make  it  plain  to  me,  Chap- 
lain, but  I  didn't  get  any  help.  But,  as  I 
came  away  from  your  quarters,  I  opened 
that  little  hymn-book,  and  I  read : 

*  Just  as  I  am,  and  waiting  not 
To  rid  my  soul  of  one  dark  blot. 
To  thee,  whose  blood  can  cleanse  each  spot, 
O  Lamb  of  God,  I  come !  * 

And  then  it  was  all  clear  to  me." 

After  the  war,  I  was  in  Tremont  Tem- 
ple, when  Moody  was  back  there  for  the 
first  time  after  having  left  Boston  for  Chi- 
cago. That  soldier  convert  waved  his 
hand  to  me  across  the  hall.  I  found,  after* 
wai^ds,  that  he  was  now  in  active  Christian 
work  in  that  vicinity,  and  that  on  that  ac- 
count he  was  attending  that  convention. 
When  I  knew  this,  I  thanked  God  that 
92 


tlQlorr^  tor  Single  Souls  tn  Brmii^  Xtie 

Charlotte  Elliott's  hymn  had  helped  hira 
more  than  I  could  to  see  the  way  of  peace. 


There  were  strange  characters,  as  well 
as  strange  experiences,  encountered  in  my 
army  Christian  work.  The  army  brought 
all  sorts  of  persons  together,  and  I  had  to 
become  acquainted  with  and  interested  in 
them  all.  While  at  St  Augustine,  Florida, 
in  the  winter  of  1863-64,  a  part  of  our 
regiment  did  garrison  duty  at  the  old 
Spanish  coquina  fort,  with  its  bloody 
memories  and  its  weird  legends  of  former 
occupants.  I  was  accustomed  to  hold 
Sunday-school  services  each  Sunday  after- 
noon, and  also  mid-week  evening  services, 
in  the  little  chapel  opposite  the  main  en- 
trance of  the  fort.  Just  outside  of  that 
chapel  there  was  a  pile  of  rusty  cannon,  on 
which  men  would  sometimes  loll  while  wa 
were  having  services  inside.  And  as  I 
moved  about  the  fort  I  had  many  a  talk 
with  men  whom  I  rarely  met  so  familiarly 
elsewhere. 

9$ 


moiviDual  tSDlorft 

One  day,  in  walking  through  the  fort^ 
my  attention  was  drawn  to  a  strange  face 
glaring  through  an  iron-barred  opening  of 
a  dungeon  door  in  the  southwestern  cor- 
ner of  the  casemated  walls.  It  was  the 
most  repulsive  face  I  had  ever  seen.  Low- 
browed, coarse-featured,  dark-complex- 
ioned, with  small  black  eyes  under  shaggy 
eyebrows,  and  thick  sensuous  lips,  it 
seemed  like  a  cross  between  a  Digger  In- 
dian and  a  New  Zealand  native,  with  the 
worst  peculiarities  of  both.  The  expres- 
sion was  one  of  low  cunning,  with  a  mix- 
ture of  hate  and  derision.  It  was  an  un- 
human  face,  yet  the  man  who  bore  it  was 
evidently  one  of  my  parishioners,  or  he 
would  not  be  where  he  was. 

"Who  arc  you,  my  friend?'*  I  said 
'*  Where  do  you  belong  ?  " 

He  answered  in  a  low,  gruff  voice,  as  if 
he  were  resenting  an  attack. 

*•  I  belong  to  the  Tenth  Connecticut." 

•*You  belong  to  the  Tenth  Connects 
cutl"  I  said 

94 


"mom  m-  t^Hngie  tdouis  tit  Hrmp  Utte 

^  Why,  then  Fin  your  chaplain,  and  Fve 
got  an  interest  in  you.** 
As  I  kindly  questioned  the  man,  I  found 

that  he  had  been  most  of  the  time  since  his 
enlistment  in  confinement  for  insubordi- 
nation, and  therefore  I  had  not  met  him. 
After  a  brief  talk  I  left  him.  Soon  he  was 
released  from  confinement,  and  was  again 
with  his  comrades.  I  saw  him  occasionally^ 
and  spoke  to  him  kindly,  but  I  did  not 
look  upon  him  as  a  hopeful  case  in  com- 
parison with  others,  and  had  comparativ  cly 
little  to  say  to  him.  It  seems,  however, 
that  I  had  gained  more  of  a  hold  on  hira 
than  I  was  disposed  to  recognize. 

After  a  while,  we  left  Florida  for  Vir- 
ginia. As  we  moved  up  along  the  coast 
in  a  crowded  transport,  this  man  came  to 
me  in  the  throng,  and  said  softly : 

"  Misser  Chaplin,  I  want  to  talk  to  you." 

**  Well,  I'm  always  glad  to  talk  to  you," 

I  said.     "  But  where  can  we  go  to  talk  ? 

Let  us  lean  over  the  steamer's  rail.     That 

U  our  only  place  to  talk  by  ourselves.** 

95 


UnDlvtDual  moth 

As  we  leaned  there  together,  he  told  me 
his  strange,  pathetic  story. 

"  Misser  Chaplin,  you  'member  when 
you  talked  to  me  at  the  dungeon  door. 
You  spoke  kind  to  me.  You  said  you's 
my  chaplin.  I  never  forget  that,  Misser 
Chaplin.  I'm  a  rough  feller;  I  never 
knowed  much.  I  suppose  I'm  human, 
that's  about  all.  I  never  had  no  bringin' 
up.  Fust  I  knowed  o'  myself  I  was  In  the 
streets  o'  New  Orleans.  Never  knowed  a 
father  or  mother.  I  was  kicked  about.  I 
eame  North  and  'listed  in  army.  I've  had  a 
hard  time  of  it.  My  cap'n  hates  the  very 
groun'  I  tread  on." 

Then  with  a  chuckle  and  a  leer,  as  he 
thought  of  his  Ishmaelitish  life,  he  said :  "  I 
did  worry  my  cap*n.  And  he  hated  me. 
Ten  months  with  ball  and  chain  !  A  hard 
time  of  it !  But  what  you  said  at  the  dun- 
geon door's  all  true.  And  what  you  said 
in  prayer-meetin'  is  all  true." 

"  Prayer-meeting ! "  I  said    "  I  never  saw 
you  in  prayer-meeting." 
96 


WoxU  tot  Single  Souls  fn  :armB  Xite 

"No,  I  was  jus'  outside,  on  those  old 
cannon.  And  now,  Misser  Chaplin,  I 
want  to  do  right.  Misser  Chaplin,  I  sup- 
pose we's  goin*  into  a  fight,  and  I  want  to 
do  my  duty.  They  say  I'm  a  coward. 
I've  never  been  in  a  fight,  but  I  want  to  do 
my  duty."  As  a  friend  of  mine,  to  whom 
I  told  this  story,  said,  "  The  only  religious 
instruction  this  man  ever  got  was  through 
eaves-dropping  at  a  prayer-meeting." 

Then  in  a  voice  strangely  tender  in  con- 
trast with  the  first  gruff  utterance  which  I 
heard  from  him  in  the  dungeon,  he  said: 
"  Misser  Chaplin,  you're  the  only  man  who 
ever  spoke  kind  to  me.  If  I  get  killed  I 
want  you  to  have  my  money.  And  if  I 
get  killed,  won't  you  have  it  writ  in  the 
paper  that  Lino  died  for  his  country?" 

That  was  another  noteworthy  incident 
in  my  personal  Christian  work  for  others. 
We  reached  Virginia.  We  were  in  a  fight 
Lino  bore  himself  so  bravely  that  his  cap- 
tain, whom  he  had  worried  so  long,  called 
him  out  before  the  entire  company,  at  the 
97 


inotviouai  Idotft 

close  W  the  engagement,  and  commended 
him  for  his  bravery  and  good  service. 
Hearing  of  this,  I  looked  him  up  after  the 
fight  was  over,  and  congratulated  him  on 
his  well-doing  in  active  battle. 

"  You've  done  bravely,  I  hear,  Lino,  and 
Tm  glad  of  it." 

"  Yes,"  he  said,  with  a  softer  chuckle 
than  before.  "They  called  me  a  coward, 
but  I  tried  to  do  my  duty.  'Tain't  always 
the  frisky  ox  that's  at  the  far  end  of  the 
yoke." 

That  long  friendless  man  showed,  in  his 
way,  his  intention  of  doing  what  God  would 
have  him  do.  Who  of  us  has  better  im- 
proved his  opportunities  ? 


God's  estimates  are  not  as  man's  esti- 
mates, and  we  have  reason  to  rejoice  that 
this  is  so.  He  loves  us  not  for  what  we 
are,  but  for  what  he  is.  How  often  it  is 
that  we  fail  to  exert  ourselves  in  behalf  of  a 
soul  for  Christ  because  that  soul  seems  to 
08 


dorR  toi  Sinaie  Souis  m  Btmp  nm 

us  not  a  hopeful  subject,  either  on  a.ccount 
of  his  morals  or  ot  his  intellect 

Among  the  recruits  picked  up  m  Con- 
necticut, for  the  sake  of  the  bounty,,  in  the 
later  years  of  the  Civil  War,  were  some 
men  who  would  not  have  been  accepted  in 
the  army  on  their  merit  One  such  man 
in  GUI  regiment  was  below  the  physical 
standard,,  and  he  seemed  beneath  a  faif 
average  of  intelligence.  He  was  a  laughing 
stock  in  the  regiment.  He  was  not  com- 
petent for  a  soldier's  duty.  He  was  unable 
to  drill  So  he  was  put  at  a  menial  duty, 
and  became  a  byword  and  a  butt  I  do 
not  think  that  it  occurred  to  me,  at  that  time, 
that  he  was  a  proper  subject  for  religious 
conversation,  I  am  speaking  of  what  was, 
not  of  what  ought  to  have  been  Possi 
bly  the  confession  of  my  lack  will  suggest 
to  some  one  else  the  impropriety  of  such  a 
failure, 

One  day,  in  St  Augustine,  as  I  w^as 
walking  on  the  parapet  of  the  old  Spanish 
fort,  I  came  upon  this  man     No  one  els« 


was  just  then  in  sight,  and  it  seemed  as  if 
H  would  be  taking  nothing  from  others  if 
I  said  a  word  to  him.  So  I  stopped  to  talk 
with  him.  Calling  him  by  his  regimental 
nickname,  I  asked: 

"  Do  you  ever  pray  ?  " 

"'I  say  'Oure  Farther/"  was  his  thick 
and  drawling  response. 

"  Who  IS  your  Father?  "  I  asked. 

That  question  he  couldn't  answer.  He 
had  only,  by  some  one,  been  taught  by 
rote  to  say  the  words  of  that  prayer.  Then 
I  took  him  as  a  little  child, — as,  indeed,  he 
was  a  little  child  m  intellect ;  and  I  told 
him  ol  God  as  his  loving  Father  in 
heaven,  who  would  be  glad  to  have  him 
pray  to  him.  And  I  told  ot  Jesus  and  his 
love.  He  listened  like  a  glad  child  who 
was  taking  in  a  child's  lesson,  and  he 
seemed  to  comprehend  what  I  was  saying, 
as  well  as  any  of  us  can  comprehend 
these  truths.  From  that  time  I  had  a  new 
interest  in  that  soldier  boy,  and  he  seemed 
to  be  showing  signs  of  awakened  life.     He 


tRnorft  ror  Sittflie  Soma  tn  Brmt)  Uttt 

welcomed  my  interest  in  him,  and  he  re* 
sponded  gratefully  to  every  word  of  coun- 
sel or  suggestion  from  me,  I  reproached 
myself  that  I  had  not  been  readier  to  esti- 
mate him  as  God  estimates  every  soul 
whom  the  Saviour  loves  and  died  for. 

After  the  war  was  over  I  was,  one  Sun- 
day evening,  to  make  an  address  m  a  Con- 
necticut city.  As  I  entered  the  outer  door 
of  the  prominent  church,  a  bright-faced 
young  man  stepped  forward  to  greet  me, 
calling  me  by  name.  As  I  looked  the  sec- 
ond time,  I  saw  that  it  was  that  anything 
but  hopeful  soldier  whom  I  first  talked 
with  on  the  parapet  of  the  old  Spanish  fort 
in  St  Augustine.  On  inquiry,  I  found  that 
he  had  made  a  public  confession  of  his 
feith  in  one  of  the  prominent  churches  in 
that  city,  and  that  he  was  witnessing  a 
good  confession.  He  was  a  regular  attend- 
ant in  the  Sunday-schooL  As  I  looked  at 
him,  I  hoped  that  I  had  been  of  some  ser- 
vice to  him ;  for  I  was  sure  he  had  taught 
me  a  good  lesson,~-a  lesson  that  I  want  ^ 

905 


pasf   on  to  others     Any  soul  that  Jesus 
loves  is  worth  our  best  work  in  its  behalf, 

One  day-p  in  Virginia,  in  the  later  months 
of  the  war,  as  I  passed  the  regimental 
guard-quarters,  I  saw  a  man  tied  up  by 
his  thumbs  at  the  **  wooden  horse  '*  outside 
those  quarters  It  was  no  time  to  talk 
with  a  man  in  that  position ;  but  I  quietly 
noted  the  face,  with  the  intention  o*  speak 
ing  to  the  man  afterwards.  Those  were 
the  days  of  substitutes  and  '*  bounty 
jumpers "  m  lieu  of  native-born  volun- 
teers, and  severe  punishments  were  more 
in  vogue  than  before-  This  man  was  a 
substitute  from  over  the  ocean.  He  had 
been  enlisted  under  a  false  name  by  a  rela- 
tive in  this  country,  and,  with  his  im- 
mediate associates  as  they  were,  he  had 
little  inducement  to  do  well 

Not  long  after,  when  I  had  given  notice 
at  the  chapel  tent  that  on  Tuesday  even- 
ing I  should  be  glad  to  see  any  soldier  at 
my  tent  who  wished  to  talk  as  to  personal 


cnorl?  tot  single  Idouid  in  amn;  lUe 

religion,  this  substitute  soidler  came  to  my 
tent  on  the  evening  named.  1  welcomed 
him  heartily,  and  referred  to  my  special 
invitation  for  that  evening.  He  replied, 
with  some  embarrassment,  that  he  had  not 
come  at  that  call,  but  merely  to  talk  with 
me  on  another  matter,  I  asked  if  his 
special  business  could  wait  a  little,  while  I 
spoke  of  the  matter  to  which  I  had  de- 
voted the  evening.  He  said  that  the  other 
thing  could  wait  Then  I  told  him  of  my 
personal  interest  in  him,  and  urged  the 
surrender  of  his  hfe  to  his  Saviour-  His 
response  profoundly  impressed  me  as  dis* 
closing  the  workings  of  his  inner  life. 

"I'm  a  very  strange  man,  Chaplain! 
Now  that  I'm  talking  with  you,  I  realize 
the  truth  of  all  you  say,  and  I'm  not  a 
hypocnte  in  agreeing  with  it  alL  But  I'll 
go  o':i  from  your  tent,  and  it  will  not  be 
an  hour  before  I've  forgotten  all  about  this 
talk,  and  am  just  as  wicked  and  as  wild  as 
ever.  And  I'll  not  think  of  religion  again 
until,  perhaps,  Fm  on  guard  some  night 

"0% 


UnDtvtOuai  XSkoOi 

Then   when   Vm  all  by  myself,  and  the 

camp  is  quiet,  as  I'm  passing  back  and 
forth  on  my  beat,  it  will  all  come  back  to 
me  agam,  and  I'll  see  just  what  a  sinner  I 
am,  and  how  like  a  fool  I've  acted ;  and  FU 
resolve  that,  if  only  I  live  till  morning,  Fll 
be  a  very  different  man.  And  Fll  think 
that  way  until  the  *  relief*  comes  round, 
and  I  go  to  the  guard-quarters  agaia 
And  then — will  you  believe  it.  Chaplain  ? — 
it  will  not  be  five  minutes  before  Fm  swear- 
ing and  scoffing  as  if  I'd  never  had  a  seri- 
ous thought  in  my  life.  O  Chaplain !  Fm  a 
very  strange  man,  sir ;  a  very  strange  man  I  '* 
As  this  my  soldier  parishioner,  whose 
strangeness  consisted  mainly  in  his  excep- 
tional understanding  of  the  workings  of 
his  own  heart,  talked  thus  with  me  of  his 
moral  struggles  and  need,  I  was  drawn  to 
him  by  an  interest  that  never  intermitted 
while  he  lived.  He  came  to  be  a  brave 
soldier.  When  the  war  was  over,,  he  be- 
came an  active  worker  in  a  prominent  New 
England  church.  He  took  an  exception- 
^04 


Tldorft  for  Single  Souls  tn  arms  Xlte 

ally  high  stand  in  business  circles,  in  politU 
cal  life,  in  military  organizations.  He  was 
instrumental  in  leading  many  who  had 
gone  astray  back  to  ways  of  uprightness ; 
and  when  his  earthly  life  course  had  ended 
his  memory  was  precious  in  the  minds  of 
many  who  were  inspired  and  aided  by  his 
example  and  efforts,  as  a  specimen  worker 
for  Christ  won  to  this  work  by  a  timely 
word  of  invitation  and  guidance. 


Army  life  continued  far  into  the  days  of 
peace.  The  intimacies  and  affections  of 
active  service  did  not  end  when  soldiers  left 
the  battle-field  for  their  old  home,  or  for  a 
new  one.  The  revival  of  personal  relations 
when  the  chaplain  met  members  of  his 
regimental  charge  under  peculiar  circum- 
stances often  enabled  him  to  say  a  word  for 
Christ  to  an  old  soldier,  which  had  back  of 
it  the  force  of  sacred  war  memories. 

A  regimental  "pioneer  corps"  did  pecu- 
liar army  service,  and  its  members  often 
exhibited  high  qualities  of  courage  and 
105 


UnDivtDual  motn 

Jaring.  They  would  go  before  our  column 
to  cut  a  way  through  forest  or  bushes,  or 
to  construct  a  bridge  or  road,  sometimes 
under  the  enemy's  sharp  fire.  To  fill  their 
place  and  do  their  work  was  to  win  honor 
and  regard  from  officers  and  men.  They 
would  quickly  construct  a  shelter  for  an 
officer,  which  gave  him  protection  and 
comfort,  as  he  stopped  for  a  night  or  a 
week.  In  doing  this  they  showed  rare  skill 
and  taste,  and  made  themselves  indispen* 
sable  to  the  command  as  a  whole. 

Some  months  after  the  war  I  was  an- 
nounced to  speak,  one  Sunday  evening,  in 
a  prominent  church  in  Western  Massa- 
chusetts. As  I  rose  in  the  pulpit  I  saw  in 
the  congregation  a  well-remembered  ser- 
geant in  our  "pioneer  corps."  He  was  one 
of  the  bravest  of  the  brave,  always  prompt 
and  ready  in  whatever  he  had  to  do. 
Hearing  that  I  was  to  speak,  he  had  come 
to  listen  to  his  old  chaplain.  The  pastor 
in  whose  pulpit  I  stood  told  me  afterwards 
that  this  veteran  soldier  had  a  good  name 
io6 


taaocft  to*  jsmgie  »oui0  m  Brmp  iLite 

in  the  community,  although  he  was  not  a 
church-member.  At  once  I  felt  that  I  must 
reach  him  for  Christ  The  chaplain  must 
be  faithful  that  night  to  the  pioneer  corps 
sergeant 

At  the  close  of  the  service  the  brave  old 
*•  pioneer"  came  forward  to  give  me  greet- 
ing. After  a  talk  about  our  campaigning 
together,  I  asked  him  if  he  wouldn't  go 
with  me  for  a  talk  to  the  parsonage,  where 
I  was  to  pass  the  night  This  he  was 
glad  to  do  By  the  pastor's  consent  I 
had  a  room  where  we  could  be  by  our- 
selves. In  a  free  talk  with  my  old  com- 
rade, I  found  him  ready  and  glad  to  com- 
mit himself  wholly  to  Christ  He  only 
needed  to  know  what  to  do,  and  to  be 
helped  to  do  it  When  I  asked  him  if  he 
was  ready  and  willing  to  take  this  step 
now,  he  assured  me  that  he  was.  At  this 
we  went  on  our  knees  together,  and  the 
brave  soldier  of  country  became  a  trustful 
soldier  of  Christ  As  I  knew  of  him  after- 
wards, L  felt  that  he  was  one  of  many  who 

I07 


TlnOtvit)uai  llClorft 

needed  only  the  being  enlisted  to  be  ready 
for  active,  persistent  service. 


It  was  with  officers  as  with  men.  The 
intimacies  and  associations  of  camp  and 
campaigning  brought  persons  together  in 
never-to-be-forgotten  relations.  Years  after 
the  war,  men  who  had  been  in  close  com- 
panionship as  fellow-officers  in  active  ser- 
vice would  be  closer  together  in  an  hour  or 
two  of  renewed  intimacy  than  fellow-civil- 
ians could  be  in  years  of  association.  Every 
old  soldier  knows  how  this  was. 

On  one  occasion,  I  met,  in  civil  life,  a 
fellow-officer,  whom  I  honored  and  looked 
up  to.  In  a  strange  place,  we  were  in 
crowded  quarters,  where  there  was  not  a 
separate  bed  for  each.  In  consequence,  we 
two,  who  had  slept  on  the  field  under  the 
same  blanket,  shared  the  same  hotel  bed. 
Our  army  experiences  made  each  of  us  more 
willing  to  consent  to  this  arrangement  than 
if  we  had  not  been  in  the  army.  My 
loS 


Morft  tor  Sttiflle  Souls  in  Brmi2  Xltc 

kneeling  in  prayer,  before  I  lay  down, 
opened  the  way  for  a  close  and  loving 
talk  on  the  precious  relations  which  are 
between  those  who  are  one  in  Christ, — a 
union  closer  than  that  of  fellow-soldiers. 

My  officer  friend,  although  reverent  to- 
ward Christ  and  his  salvation,  was  not 
ready  to  express  his  personal  trust  in  the 
Saviour.  As  I  tenderly  urged  him  to  com- 
mit himself  to  the  one  Saviour,  he  con- 
fessed that  he  was  not  ready  to  do  so,  be- 
cause of  a  reason  that  he  deemed  sufficient 
As  we  conversed  that  night  on  the  subject, 
he  told  me  that  if  a  certain  state  of  things 
should  ever  exist,  he  would  be  ready  to 
take  the  step,  as  he  was  not  now.  That 
night's  conversation  and  my  officer  friend's 
conditional  promise  were  stored  in  my 
mind,  and  he  was  a  subject  of  my  prayers. 

As  the  months  passed  on,  the  state  of 
things  which  he  suggested  as  likely  to 
change  his  view  as  to  his  personal  duty 
came  about  When  I  knew  of  this  change 
in  affairs,  I  had  his  promise  in  mind,  and 
109 


in  the  early  morning  I  presented  myself  at 
his  home 

"  I  told  my  wife  that  the  chaplain  would 
be  up  here  to  see  me,  after  this,"  was  the 
greeting  that  he  gave  me,  as  I  entered  his 
home.  What  if  I  had  failed  to  remember 
my  promise  at  a  time  like  this  ? 

That  brave  officer  was  ready  to  do  his 
duty.  He  openly  took  a  stand  for  Christ 
His  influence  over  others  was  great.  He 
became  known  throughout  the  land  as  a 
Christian.  If  I  had  never  been  the  means 
of  winning  any  other  to  a  confession  of  the 
Saviour,  I  should  feel  that  all  my  labors 
with  individuals  were  more  than  repaid  by 
the  result  of  that  one  evening's  talk  with 
this  soldier  of  country  and  of  Christ 


110 


VII 

XKHinniuG  tbose  HQet  m  Cburcb  anb 
JBtble  Class 

Where  you  have  many  persons  to  hear 
you,  as  where  you  have  only  one,  it  is  the 
single  hearer,  or  the  one  individual  with 
whom  you  converse,  that  is  the  hopeful 
subject  of  Christian  effort.  It  is  the  eye- 
to-eye  and  heart-to-heart  intercourse  that 
tells  for  Christ  with  a  soul.  It  has  often 
seemed  to  me  that  there  is  about  so  much 
good  going  out  from  a  speaker,  at  any 
one  time,  in  behalf  of  souls.  This  good  is 
divided  among  the  hearers  present.  If 
there  are  twenty  hearers,  each  can  have 
his  one-twentieth.  If  there  are  a  thou- 
sand, each  has  only  a  thousandth.  When 
there  is  but  one,  he  takes  the  whole.  This 
thought  is  an  encouragement  to  a  preacher 
when  he  has  but  a  small  audience. 

In  a  Bible  class  that  I  had  the  privilege 

XII 


tn  CDurcD  anD  MDic  Ciadd 

of  conducting  for  years,  I  counted  more  on 
my  talks  with  individuals  after  the  class 
hour  was  over  than  on  all  my  words  to  the 
class  as  a  whole,  during  the  school  session, 
stimulating  and  pleasant  to  me  as  was  this 
latter  exercise.  One  summer  Sunday  morn- 
ing, as  I  passed  out  from  the  Bible  class  room 
toward  my  home,  I  overtook  a  young  lady 
who  had  been  an  attendant  in  the  class,  for 
some  weeks,  with  a  lady  who  was  a  regular 
member.  This  visitor  to  the  Bible  class 
was  not  a  member  of  our  church  congre- 
gation, nor  did  she  belong  to  a  family  that 
was ;  but  I  was  alone  with  her  as  we  walked 
away  from  the  room  that  Sunday  morning, 
and  therefore  I  must  say  a  word  tor  Christ 
to  her,  whether  it  seemed  a  fitting  time  or 
not.  "  In  season  and  out  of  season  "  is  the 
rule  for  us. 

As  we  walked,  we  talked  of  the  Bible 
lesson  of  the  morning.  Every  Bible  truth 
is  like  a  many-sided  crystal, — turn  it  which 
way  you  will,  there  is  one  facet  that  sends 
the  light  directly  to  your  eye.     So,  that 

119 


anoiviouaj  motP 

morning,  we  found  that  a  talk  about  the 
Bible  lesson  of  the  day  brought  us  to  a 
talk  about  our  personal  relations  to  the 
Saviour.  In  this  talk  she  seemed  much 
interested,  and  as  we  came  opposite  my 
house,  where  I  would  ordinarily  have 
stopped,  I  felt  that  I  had  no  right  to  leave 
her,  and  I  kept  on  with  her  to  her  home. 
As  she  told  me  afterwards,  she  had  longed 
for  this  talk,  and  when  we  approached  my 
house  she  feared  I  would  leave  her,  al- 
though she  was  not  ready  to  end  the  con- 
ference.    How  often  is  this  the  case ! 

That  Sunday  morning  walk  was  a  cri- 
sis hour  in  her  life  history.  She  gladly 
yielded  herself  to  the  Saviour,  and  devoted 
herself  to  his  service.  She  connected  her- 
self with  the  church  of  which  I  was  a 
member,  and  she  became  a  Sunday-school 
teacher  of  rare  devotion  and  efficiency. 
She  not  only  herself  loved  Christ,  but  she 
faithfully  represented  Christ  to  others. 
One  after  another  of  the  boys  in  her  class 
was  won  to  Christ's  love  and  service :  and 
"3 


in  Cburcb  ano  SBimc  Giaat^ 

those  who  were  under  her  instruction  and 
influence  now  rise  up  to  call  her  blessed 
What  would  my  work  as  a  leader  of  the 
class  as  a  whole  have  amounted  to,  that 
Sunday  morning,  without  my  having  that 
personal  religious  talk  with  that  one  visit 
ing  young  lady? 


There  came  into  that  Bible  class,  as  a 
member,  a  gentleman  with  whom  I  had 
been  very  pleasantly  associated  in  another 
part  of  the  country  in  former  days.  His 
wife  came  with  him  to  the  class.  Yet  I 
knew  nothing  of  their  personal  religious 
views,  save  that,  while  they  were  members 
of  our  congregation,  they  were  not  mem- 
bers of  our  church.  I  felt  that  it  was  not 
enough  to  counsel  or  urge  them  and  oth- 
ers of  the  class  collectively  to  submit 
themselves  to  Christ.  Speaking  to  an  in- 
dividual as  an  mdividual  is  the  way  to  win 
a  soul,  not  addressing  a  congregation  of 
persons  in  the  hope  that  some  mdividual 
will  think  that  he,  rather  than  everybody 

.114 


motviDuai  "Ullorfr 

else,  is  addressed  by  the  speaker,  so  1 
determined  to  reach  these  two  individuals 
outside  of  the  Bible  class  room. 

They  lived  quite  a  distance  from  my 
home,  m  another  part  of  the  city.  Thither 
I  went  on  a  week-day  afternoon.  I  told 
them  why  I  had  come,  and  how  deeply  1 
was  interested  in  their  welfare.  I  urged 
their  committing  themselves  to  the  Sav- 
iour. We  kneeled  and  unitedly  sought 
God's  blessing  on  us,  as  God  saw  our  need. 
That  was  a  decisive  hour  with  them  both. 
They  were  glad  to  have  it  so,  and  I  was 
glad  that  it  was  so. 

Both  became  teachers  instead  of  passive 
learners.  They  were  soon  active  in  church 
and  Sunday-school  work.  The  gentleman 
became  a  leader  in  the  Sunday-school,  and 
a  prominent  and  honored  office-bearer  in 
the  church.  If  that  Bible  class  had  accom- 
plished nothing  more  than  winning  that 
gentleman  and  his  family  to  their  present 
sphere  of  Christian  activity,  it  would  more 
than  have  repaid  me  for  all  that  I  have 


UnDtvtDual  morft 

done  in  connection  with  it.  I  did  that 
good  work  by  God's  blessing,  through 
only  going  one  week-day  afternoon  to 
have  a  face-to-face  talk  with  those  two  for 
Christ.  And  all  my  best  work  for  souls 
seems  to  have  been  done  in  just  that  way. 


A  graduate  of  a  school  of  science,  who 
was  a  pronounced  agnostic  in  his  attitude 
toward  religious  truth,  having  heard  of 
this  Bible  class  and  its  discussions,  asked 
a  friend  if  he  might,  though  a  disbeliever  in 
the  Bible,  be  an  attendant  of  the  class.  Being 
assured  of  a  cordial  welcome  he  came,  and 
was  mterested  in  the  discussions,  and,  as  a 
result,  became  a  firm  believer  in  the  Bible, 
which  was  the  basis  of  all  these  discussions. 
Of  course  I  had,  meantime,  repeated  eye-to» 
eye  talks  with  him  on  the  subject,  outside 
of  the  class ;  for  it  is  indeed  rare  for  any 
abiding  impression  to  be  made  by  words 
spoken  and  heard  in  public  unless  the 
truth  is  applied,  and  an  acknowledgment 
.u6 


In  Cburcb  anD  :^it)ic  Claae 

of  it  secured  in  a  face-to-face  talk  with  the 
individual  hearer. 

This  man  said  afterwards  that  he  was  first 
touched  by  my  saymg  to  him  one  day,  "  I 
am  praying  for  you  every  day."  Before  a 
great  while  he  who  came  in  as  a  non- 
believer  stood  up  in  his  home  church  and 
confessed  his  faith  in  his  newly  found 
Saviour.  Then  he  too  became  a  Bible 
teacher,  faithfully  leading  others  to  the 
Saviour,  whom  he  was  thenceforward  glad 
to  trust  and  represent 


One  Sunday  afternoon  a  well-known 
graduate  of  one  of  the  prominent  Ameri- 
can universities  outside  of  Philadelphia, 
who"  had  given  up  his  early  religious  views, 
but  who  had  come  to  question  in  his  mind 
whetier  his  non-belief  was  sufficient  for 
him,,  came  into  our  Bible  class  room.  At 
the  Jose  of  the  exercise  he  came  to  me 
and  isked  if  he  might  Have  a  talk  with  me 
abc    i  the   Bible  lesson  of  the  aftemooit 


At  this  I  invited  him  to  my  home  to  pass 

the  evening  with  me. 

At  my  home  he  told  me  that  he  had 
known  nothmg  of  the  Bible  class  before 
the  day  he  came  mto  it  But  as  the  Bible 
lesson  of  the  day  was  presented  that  after- 
noon in  an  unconventional  way,  he  had 
said  to  himself,  "  There  is  a  man  who  can 
help  me.  Tm  going  to  ask  him  if  he  will" 
We  talked  freely  that  evening.  We  prayed 
together.  That  was  the  beginning  of  a 
close  friendship  of  years.  He  soon  came 
to  confess  his  faith  openly. 

He  grew  steadily  in  knowledge  and  love 
and  influence.  To-day  he  is  a  prominent 
clergyman  in  the  denomination  with  which 
he  is  connected,  and  is  widely  known  for 
his  active  service,  and  he  is  leading  many 
to  enjoy  the  Christian  faith,  about  the  re- 
ality of  which  he^  for  a  time,  doubted.  His 
coming  to  that  Bible  class  that  afternoon, 
his  being  impressed  there,  and  my  having 
the  opportunity  of  speaking  to  him  for 
Chrisi:,  were  clearly  of  God.     Well  is  it  fof 


m  CDutcb  anD  3BlDlc  Clasd 

US  if,  when  God  gives  us  such  an  opportu- 
nity, we  do  not  fail  to  do  our  simple  part, 
and  thus  share  the  blessing. 


Two  sisters  came  to  that  Bible  class  to- 
gether. Then,  one  of  them  fell  dead.  The 
other  was  so  much  affected  by  her  loss  that 
she  felt  she  could  not  come  to  the  class.  I 
attended  the  sister's  funeral,  and  I  ex- 
pressed hearty  sympathy  with  the  survivor, 
but  at  that  time  I  had  no  opportunity  for 
a  free  conversation  with  her.  Some  time 
later  I  saw  the  stricken  sister  in  our  church 
on  the  day  of  a  communion  service,  watch- 
ing the  service  from  the  back  part  of  the 
house.  It  was  a  snowy  Sunday.  I  hur- 
ried round  to  the  front  door  of  the  church, 
and  joined  her  as  she  came  out 

I  walked  with  her,  in  the  snow,  to  her 
home,  at  a  distance,  and  talked  with  her, 
by  the  way,  quite  freely,  I  asked  her  why 
she  did  not  confess  Christ  as  her  Saviourp 
and  join  with  his  other  children  in  the  cele* 
bration  of  his  love,  instead  of  sitting  as  a 
11^ 


InDiviDual  'QClorR 

looker-on.  She  had  not  faced  that  ques* 
tion  before,  but  now  that  she  was  asked  it 
she  considered  it  seriously.  When  I  came 
to  her  home  door,  I  stopped  and  asked  if 
she  would  be  ready  to  take  this  decisive 
step  at  the  next  season  of  communion  in 
our  church.  She  hesitated  for  a  few  min- 
utes, and  then  she  gave  me  her  hand  in 
assurance  that  she  would. 

On  the  Wednesday  evening  before  the 
next  communion  service,  w^hen  candidates 
for  church-membership  were  to  appear  be- 
fore the  church  session,  at  the  close  of  the 
weekly  prayer-meeting,  I  saw  that  sister 
present.  The  appointment  had  slipped  my 
mind,  but  it  had  not  slipped  hers.  She 
was  there,  ready  to  confess  Christ,  and  I 
told  her  that  I  was  glad  that  she  was  so. 
Seemingly  her  choice  for  life  was  made, 
as  her  future  has  evidenced. 

These  are  merely  a  few  illustrations,  out 
of  many,  of  the  gain  of  personal  work,  or 
of  individual  work  with  individuals,  for 
Christ,  in  a  single  sphere  of  my  varied  ex- 


In  Cburcb  anD  Mblc  Clasa 

perience.  I  have  not  been  as  faithful  as  I 
should  have  been  in  this.  I  have  at  times 
failed  to  act  and  to  speak  when  it  was 
my  duty;  but  the  blessing  that  God  has 
granted  to  my  imperfect  labors  may  stimu- 
late others  to  do  more  and  better,  and  thus 
to  have  far  richer  results  to  rejoice  over. 
I  pray  that  it  may  be  sOo 


One  who  was  in  the  congregation,  but 
not  yet  in  the  Sunday-school,  I  came  to 
know  in  very  pleasant  relations,  and  there- 
fore I  felt  a  measure  of  responsibility  for 
him.  He  was  influential  in  the  commu- 
nity, and  on  this  account  I  was  the  more 
desirous  that  his  influence  should  be  on 
the  right  sida 

I  sought  him  in  his  boarding-house 
home,  and  I  told  him  frankly  of  my  wish 
that  he  would  commit  himself  to  the  Sa- 
viour, and  be  an  open  and  avowed  follower 
of  his,  outspoken  in  his  sei-vice.  In  con- 
versation with  him,  I  found  that  he  had 
never  been  accustomed  to  pray  as  a  child, 

X2I 


UnDtviDual  morft 

and  therefore,  naturally,  not  in  later  years. 
Few  of  us  realize  how  much  we  owe, 
through  life,  to  the  lessons  and  habits  and 
influences  of  our  childhood,  or  how  diffi- 
cult it  is  for  us  to  supply  this  lack  in  ma- 
turer  years.  I  hardly  ever  realized  that 
truth  as  I  realized  it  in  my  talk  with  this 
man.  When  I  urged  him  to  kneel  and 
pray,  he  responded^ 

"  You  do  not  know  what  you  are  asking 
of  me.  You  ask  me  to  get  down  on  my 
knees  and  speak  into  the  air,  to  talk  to  no 
one,  for  no  realized  purpose.  That  may 
seem  a  natural  thing  for  you  to  do,  but  for 
me  it  would  seem  a  most  unmeaning  thing, 
if  not,  indeed,  a  bit  of  mockery.  I  cannot 
do  it." 

This  was  in  the  early  days  of  the  tele- 
phone.    I  asked  him : 

"  Have  you  ever  talked  through  the 
telephone?" 

*'Oh,yes!"hesaid 

**You  know  I  have  one  in  my  house, 
and  another  in  my  office.    The  telephone 


In  Cburcb  anO  JSible  Clase 

is  a  great  convenience  to  me  and  a  great 
comfort.  If  you  had  never  spoken  through 
a  telephone,  and  should  come  into  my 
house,  and  see  me  talking  into  a  hole 
against  the  wall,  while  I  held  a  peculiar 
tube  to  my  ear,  you  might,  in  surprise,  ask 
what  I  was  doing.  If  I  said  I  was  in  lov- 
ing converse  with  a  friend  at  a  distance,  it 
might  seem  unreasonable  to  you,  if  not  a 
bit  of  mockery. 

*'If,  after  this,  you  should  go  into  an- 
other house,  and  should  see  a  valued  friend 
acting  similarly,  and  he  should  give  you 
the  same  answer,  and  this  should  happen 
half  a  dozen  times  over,  with  friends  whom 
you  respected,  would  it  still  seem  un- 
reasonable or  foolish?" 

*'  No,  it  would  not." 

"  How  is  it  about  the  spiritual  tele- 
phone ?  Are  there  not  as  many  to  testify 
to  the  value  of  that  as  of  the  Bell  tele- 
phone ?  " 

"  I  suppose  there  are." 

**Weil,  now,  my  friend,  won't  you  try 
123 


UnDtvlDual  morft 

it?  You  can  have  connection  ttxyif)  this 
room.  But  you  must  be  willing  to  try  it 
in  good  faith.  When  you  speak,  you  must 
give  attention  as  you  listen  for  a  response. 
It  is  not  enough  for  you  to  call  into  the 
mouthpiece  opening  without  having  the 
tube  at  your  ear.  It  is  a  blessing  to  be 
on  the  spiritual  telephone  circuit." 

This  was  a  new  way  of  looking  at  the 
prayer  question.  Soon  my  friend  was  on 
the  telephone  circuit.  He  had  connection 
in  his  own  room.  He  was  making  calls 
and  getting  responses.  He  would  no 
longer  consent  to  be  without  the  connec- 
tion. By  and  by  he  was  an  active  mem- 
ber of  the  church,  he  was  a  teacher  in  the 
Sunday-school.  There  is  a  gain  in  reli- 
gious instruction  while  one  is  very  young, 
but  it  is  well  to  begin  to  learn  the  best 
things  at  any  age,  when  you  first  have  an 
opportunity. 


134 


VIII 

TTalft  about  personal  TKDiorft  at 
Ittortbtielb 

For  nearly  forty  years  after  my  first  re- 
solve to  be  faithful  in  this  line  of  personal, 
or  individual,  work  for  Christ,  as  God  gave 
me  opportunity  and  power,  I  do  not  think 
that  it  occurred  to  me  that  my  methods  of 
Christian  effort,  for  the  good  of  single  souls, 
were  in  any  way  exceptional  or  peculiar.  The 
circumstances  of  my  being  won  to  Christ, 
and  of  my  beginning  to  work  for  him, 
made  this  method  seem  to  me  the  natural 
and  reasonable  way;  and  I  simply  kept 
at  it,  year  after  year,  without  considering 
specifically  whether  others  worked  in  the 
same  way  or  not.  But  after  nearly  two- 
score  years  of  this  experience,  a  circum- 
stance forced  on  my  mind  the  truth  that 
other  Christians  needed  to  be  told  that 
this  was  the  better  way  for  them,  as  well 
125 


UnDtviDuai  ynxoxn 

as  for  me,  to  work  for  Christ  and  for 
souls. 

I  was  at  Northfield  one  summer,  attend- 
ing the  notable  Students'  Conference  con- 
ducted by  Mr.  Moody.  Several  hundred 
students  were  there  from  twoscore  or  more 
colleges  of  America  and  Great  Britain.  But 
I  was  more  interested  in  one  student,  whom 
I  had  gone  thither  to  accompany,  than  in  the 
hundreds  of  students  who  had  been  drawn 
thither  by  its  general  attractions  and  ad- 
vantages. I  am  always  more  interested  in 
the  one  than  in  the  hundreds.  When  I 
am  thinking  of  one  to  love  and  to  live  for, 
and  to  influence  and  to  benefit,  I  can  give 
my  whole  attention  and  all  my  efforts  to 
that  one.  And  my  whole  being  is  needed 
for  my  best  work  in  whatever  is  worth 
doing  and  that  I  am  set  to  accomplish. 

I  had  had  a  part  in  the  conference  in 
several  of  its  earlier  days,  and  I  was  now 
about  to  return  home,  leaving  the  young 
friend,  whom  I  had  taken  thither,  in  sur- 
roundings that  I  was  confident  he  would 


m  mortbfielO 

enjoy.  To  Mr.  Moody's  urgent  request 
that  I  would  remain  another  day,  and 
again  address  the  students,  my  reply  was 
that  I  was  not  needed.  He  had  helpers 
enough.  The  evening  before  I  was  to 
leave,  as  I  sat  on  the  platform  just  back  of 
Mr.  Moody,  young  G.  B.  Studd,  of  Cam- 
bridge University,  who  was  one  of  the  famous 
cricketers,  was  making  an  earnest  address. 
In  speaking  of  his  early  Christian  life,  he 
mentioned  that  when,  on  one  occasion,  he 
thanked  a  lady  who  had  done  him  a  kind- 
ness, he  had  spoken  to  her  direct  words  for 
Christ.  In  thanking  him  for  these  words, 
she  said  that  never  before  had  any  one 
spoken  such  a  word  to  her.  At  this,  Studd 
said  that  he  asked  himself  why  none  of  her 
friends  who  were  friends  of  Christ  had  ever 
been  faithful  to  her  spiritual  welfare. 

As  Studd  said  this,  I  leaned  forward  and 
whispered  to  Mr.  Moody: 

"You  have  been  asking  me  to  stop 
over  another  day,  and  address  the  students. 
I  have  thought  I  couldn't,  but  Studd's  talk 

127 


has  stirred  me.  Now,  if  you'd  like  it,  Til 
stop  over  to-morrow  night,  and  talk  about 
*  Personal  Work  for  Souls.'  Only  you 
must  promise  me  that  my  words  shall  not 
be  reported  in  the  papers,  for  I  shall,  per- 
haps, use  real  names,  as  illustrations,  that 
had  better  not  be  in  print." 

Mr.  Moody  was  glad  to  have  the 
arrangement  made,  assuring  me  that  the 
reporters  would  do  as  he  wished,  and  that 
he  would  ask  them  not  to  report  my  re- 
marks. That  night,  and  the  next  day,  I 
thought  and  prayed  over  the  matter,  in 
preparation  for  the  next  evening's  meeting. 
Up  to  that  time,  I  do  not  remember  to  have 
ever,  at  any  time  or  place,  spoken  on  this  sub- 
ject, or  on  this  method  of  Christian  work. 
Its  importance  had  been  in  my  mind  simply 
for  my  own  guidance.  Of  course,  I  had  no 
notes,  or  memoranda,  of  former  thoughts  or 
experiences  in  this  line  of  Christian  effort 
But  the  theme  grew  in  prominence  and  im- 
portance, as  I  thought  of  it  hour  by  hour; 
as,  indeed,  any  phase  of  Christ's  work  grows, 
128 


m  mortbfielD 

as  we  thoughtfully  consider  iU»  magnitude 
and  worth. 

In  the  next  evening's  talk  I  told  how  1 
had  been  moved  to  this  address  by  Mr, 
Studd's  narrative  of  his  experience  in 
speaking  for  Christ  to  a  single  soul.  I  re- 
lated how  I  had  been,  as  it  were,  won  to 
Christ  by  a  word  from  one  who  had  for 
years  deferred  speaking  that  word  when 
he  knew  that  he  ought  to  speak  it;  and 
how  I  had,  since  then,  made  it  my  life  pur- 
pose to  speak  for  Christ  to  an  individual,  as 
being  a  more  hopeful  and  important  work 
for  souls  than  addressing  a  multitude.  I 
emphasized  the  fact,  in  addressing  that  large 
gathering  of  students,  that  I  wanted  to  ad- 
dress them  individually,  instead  of  collec- 
tively ;  that  I  wished  to  have  each  one  feel 
that  I  was  speaking  to  him  alone,  as  if  no 
one  was  there  except  just  he  and  myself. 
And,  as  next  best  to  this  as  a  fact,  I  wanted 
each  student  present  to  press  home  the 
truth  of  the  evening  to  some  other  single 
student. 

I2» 


InMviDual  "QDlorft 

A  n!b««lfcer  of  the  incidents  and  experi- 
ences related  in  these  pages  were  included 
in  the  address  of  that  evening ;  but,  in  ad- 
dition, there  were' instanced  several  promi- 
nent Christian  workers  whom  those  stu- 
dents had  reason  to  know  well,  who  had 
been  won  to  Christ,  or  guided  in  his  ser- 
vice, by  just  this  kind  of  personal  Christian 
endeavor.  Of  course,  such  particular  in- 
dividuals were  not  to  be  instanced  in  print, 
then  or  now.  But  the  mention  of  these 
cases,  at  that  time,  gave  emphasis  to  the 
truth  that  this  is  the  way  to  work  for 
Christ 

The  facts  of  the  address  seemed  a  sur- 
prise to  all,  perhaps  more  to  myself  than 
to  any  one  else;  for  I  had,  long  before, 
come  to  look  at  this  truth,  that  one  is 
more  than  many,  as  almost  a  matter  of 
course, — a  spiritual  axiom,  as  it  were.  As 
the  students  were  warmly  interested  in  the 
subject  of  the  evening,  they  began  to  mani- 
fest their  interest  by  signs  of  applause,  as 
was  their  wont,  when  it  concluded.  Mr, 
130 


Bt  IQortbflelO 

Moody,  in  his  intense  way,  putting  up  his 
hand,  and  shaking  it  deprecatingly,  said : 

"Hush!  This  is  no  matter  for  applause. 
It's  too  solemn  a  truth.  Brother  Studd, 
will  you  lead  us  in  prayer?" 

Then  Mr.  Studd  prayed,  and  we  all  had 
to  pray  with  him.  The  heavens  seemed  to 
open  above  us,  and  we  were  face  to  face 
with  the  Lover  and  Saviour  of  souls.  I 
think  we  all  realized  anew  what  a  duty  and 
privilege  it  is  to  represent  that  Saviour  in 
pleading  with  a  soul  that  he  loves,  and  that 
he  wants  us  to  bring  to  him.  Even  as  I 
was,  at  that  hour,  broken  down  with  strong 
feeling  under  the  power  of  that  inspired 
prayer,  I  felt  that  he  who  had  such  "power 
with  God  for  men"  could  surely  "have 
power  with  men  for  God."  That  evening, 
because  of  its  experiences  and  accompani- 
ments, marked  an  era  in  my  life  for  which 
I  have  never  ceased  to  be  grateful. 


But  there  was  a  practical   result  of  this 
considering  of  the  subject  of  the  evening, 

131 


UnMviOual  Moth 

The  leaders  of  the  various  colleges  and 
universities  represented  in  the  Conference 
at  once  invited  their  fellow-students  to  meet 
in  their  several  recognized  rallying-places, 
and  take  action  in  the  direction  of  personal, 
or  individual,  work  for  Christ  in  their  own 
field  of  labor.  So,  before  they  separated 
for  the  night,  they  had  pledged  themselves 
to  labor  as  individuals  with  individuals  in 
bringing  souls  to  Christ,  in  addition  to  all 
other  ways  in  which  they  had  worked,  or 
would  work.     That  certainly  was  a  gain. 

A  single  incident  of  that  evening  showed 
how  ready  God  is  to  open  the  way  for  our 
efforts  if  we  will  be  ready  to  enter  it  for 
his  service.  Mr.  Studd  and  some  of  his 
Cambridge  associates  came  to  me,  after  the 
meeting,  and  asked  my  assistance  in  behalf 
of  one  of  their  countrymen  who  v/as  with 
them.  He  was  a  young  man  standing 
high  in  his  university.  His  father  was 
eminent  in  the  nation.  Hence  the  influ- 
ence of  the  young  man  would  be  great 
according  as  he  used  it  for  or  against  the 
133 


at  HlortbflelO 

Tight  He  had,  as  yet,  no  interest  in  the 
Christian  work  that  had  drawn  to  North- 
field  some  of  his  personal  friends.  He  had 
come  thither  because  of  his  intimacy  with 
some  of  them,  but  he  had  little  sympathy 
with  them  in  their  interest  in  what  was 
represented  by  the  Northfield  Conference. 
They  had  sought  in  vain  to  win  his  interest 
in  these  things  on  the  voyage  over,  and 
now  they  had  come  for  my  help. 

"  Give  us  your  help,  Dr.  Trumbull,"  said 
Mr.  Studd.  *'  It  would  amply  repay  us  for 
coming  to  America  if  we  could  only  win 
this  man  to  Christ." 

"  My  dear  friends,"  I  said,  "  I  cannot  help 
you.  I  have  no  special  power  in  winning 
souls.  I  have  merely  told  you  this  evening 
of  my  habit  of  speaking  a  word  for  Christ 
to  those  whom  God  puts  under  my  influ- 
ence, or  for  whom,  in  some  way,  he  gives 
me  a  responsibility.  This  young  man  is 
not  one  of  that  sort.  I  have  merely  met 
him  here  as  one  with  you.  All  I  can  say  is 
that  I  will  have  your  request  in  mind,  and  r 
X33 


InOivlDual  TTOlorft 

I  meet  him  so  that  I  have  a  right  to  speak 
to  him  I  will  not  fail  to  use  the  opportu- 
nity." 

"  Well,  we  shall  be  praying  for  you  and 
him,  and  I  trust  that  God  will  open  a  way 
for  a  blessing."  ^ 

It  was  then  nearly  midnight.  I  left  the 
Auditorium  and  went  across  the  campus  to 
the  hall  in  which  I  had  my  room.  As  I 
went  up  the  steps  of  that  hall  I  saw  a  young 
man  standing  in  the  shadow.  He  stepped 
forward  to  meet  me.  It  was  the  young 
Cambridge  student  of  whom  we  had  been 
speaking,  and  for  whom  his  friends  and 
associates  were  now  praying.  As  I  greeted 
him  cordially,  he  said  : 

"Dr.  Trumbull,  I  was  over  in  the  Audi- 
torium and  I  heard  your  address.  And 
now  I  want  your  help.  When  are  you 
going  away  ?  When  can  I  have  a  talk  with 
you?" 

"I'd  gladly  talk  to-night  with  you,"  I 
said,  "  but  I  am  not  going  away  until  to* 
morrow  noon." 

J34 


Bt  TQortbtIcl& 

So  It  was  arranged  that  I  should  meet 
him  as  I  came  out  from  the  breakfast  room 
early  the  next  morning.  Bidding  him  good- 
night, I  went  to  my  room  to  thank  God  and 
to  pray  to  God.  As  I  came  from  the 
breakfast  room  I  found  the  "man  greatly 
beloved "  awaiting  me.  Together  we 
sought  a  retired  spot,  under  the  trees,  at 
some  distance  from  the  buildings.  There 
we  had  a  plain,  free  talk.  He  was  entirely 
ready  to  take  the  step  of  submission  to 
Christ,  and  of  entering  his  service.  As  we 
kneeled  together  in  the  open  air,  and  sought 
God's  blessing  on  the  decision  then  made 
and  the  new  hfe  course  then  entered  on,  I 
felt  that  the  incident  was  one  of  God's 
planning  and  leading  to,  and  which  surely 
had  his  blessing. 

I  was  glad  to  report  to  those  who  had 
sought  my  help  this  sequel  to  their  request 
of  the  evening  before.  And  when  I  left  them 
all,  that  noon,  I  was  confident  that  the  new 
disciple  would  be  lovingly  and  faithfully 
cared  for  and  aided  in  the  subsequent  days 


UnOiviDual  TKIlorft 

at  Northfield  and  when  all  returned  to  their 
English  homes.  Some  weeks  later  I  had  a 
letter  from  that  young  man,  speaking  most 
gratefully  of  that  interview  under  the  trees  on 
that  morning  in  Northfield — that  "heaven 
on  earth,"  as  he  called  it,  and  as  any  place 
where  God  is  can  fairly  be  called.  God  is 
always  better  than  we  anticipate,  if  we  are 
ready  to  work  for  souls  in  his  behalf. 


196 


IX 

©tbet  Ualfts  about  personal  TPdlorft 

Northfield  is  a  unique  field  of  influence. 
Its  audience  stands  all  by  itself.  It  is  not  a 
miscellaneous  gathering,  but  an  assembljage 
of  picked  Christian  workers, — of  those  who 
are  excellent  in  spirit,  who  want  to  be 
profited  themselves,  and  to  help  others  to 
profit,  and  who  ask  only  directions  as  to 
how  they  can  best  do  this.  I  had  often 
said  that  talking  to  an  ordinary  audience 
is  like  sowing  seed  broadcast,  but  that 
talking  to  a  Northfield  Students'  Confer- 
ence is  like  handing  out  select,  packages 
of  choice  seed  to  planters  in  the  spring  of 
the  year.  This  truth  was  never  impressed 
on  my  mind  more  positively  than  in  con- 
nection with  my  first  talk  at  Northfield 
about  the  duty  and  advantages  of  personal 
work  for  souls,  and  the  aftermath  of  that 
137 


tnOivtDual  MorR 

talk,  or  of  that  evening's  distribution  of 
seed  among  the  young  planters. 

I  have  mentioned  that  students  of  the 
several  colleges  and  universities  repre- 
sented that  year  at  Northfield  took  action 
that  very  night  to  secure  Christian  work 
of  that  sort  in  their  loved  fields  of  influence 
and  action.  But  this,  be  it  understood, 
was  not  the  end,  but  the  beginning,  of 
their  activities  of  this  sort,  as  stimulated  by 
what  they  had  been  told  of  the  possibilities 
of  such  effort.  At  once  I  found  myself  in 
correspondence  on  the  subject  with  those 
near  and  far,  and  I  was  asked  to  visit  dif- 
ferent colleges  in  order  to  help  to  arouse 
students  there  who  were  not  present  at 
Northfield  when  the  subject  was  first  pre- 
sented. Indeed,  I  soon  realized  that  the 
young  planters  whom  I  had  met  at  North- 
field  were  already  doing  many  times  as 
much  for  Christ  as  I  had  done  in  years,  and 
for  this  I  was  grateful  to  the  Lord  of  the 
harvest. 

Soon  after  this  I  was  invited  to  be  pres* 
138 


®tbcr  ^alfte  about  IPcrsonal  "HClocft 

ent  at  the  New  England  Students'  Confer- 
ence at  Middletown,  Connecticut  There 
was  here,  in  one  sense,  an  advantage  over 
Northfield  in  that  fewer  were  present,  so 
that  I  came  nearer  to  the  one  individual. 
Here  for  the  first  time  I  met  Robert  E. 
Speer,  at  that  time  of  Princeton.  This  was 
a  blessing  to  be  grateful  for  for  a  lifetime. 
If  I  have  not  done  more  and  better  for 
Christ  since  then  I  alone  am  to  blame. 
His  personality  and  example  ought  to 
have  been  an  inspiration  and  a  help  to 
me.     I  think  that  they  have  been. 

At  Middletown,  as  at  Northfield,  there 
was  a  precious  aftermath  of  the  sowing  on 
the  subject  of  personal  Christian  work. 
Individuals  came  to  me  for  counsel  and 
suggestion  as  to  particular  cases  in  which 
they  were  interested,  and  concerning  which 
they  were  determined  to  do  their  duty,  so 
that  I  felt  that  my  best  work  was  done  after 
I  had  spoken,  not  while  I  was  speaking. 
The  obvious  consequences  for  good  from 
the  presenting  of  the  subject  at  both  places 
139 


InDtviDual  •QClorR 

are  still  open  and  progressing.  And  thus 
it  is  with  God's  work  always.  The  best  is 
yet  to  come. 

After  this  I  was  invited  to  Princeton  by 
T.  H.  Powers  Sailer, then  an  undergraduate 
of  the  university.  My  first  visit  to  North- 
field  had  been  to  accompany  him  to  the 
Students'  Conference,  because  of  my  deep 
interest  in  his  welfare.  He  was  ready  to 
lead  actively  in  individual  work  for  Christ 
in  Princeton,  and  to  stimulate  his  fellow- 
students  to  such  action.  Here,  as  at  other 
places,  whatever  I  said  in  favor  of  this  line 
of  action  was  sure  to  be  followed  by  fresh 
activities  in  good. work  by  men  who  were 
prepared  ^br  better  work  than  I  could  do. 
My  first  visit  to  Princeton  in  this  line  was 
followed  by  other  visits,  and  individual 
work  for  Christ  was  multiplied  there  as 
elsewhere. 

Then  I  was  invited  to  spend  a  Sunday  at 

Yale.     A.  A.  Stagg,  the  Christian  athlete, 

prominent  in  the  College  Young  Men's 

Christian  Association  work,  had  been  with 

140 


©tlx^c  UalftB  aDout  personal  'CClorli 

me  at  Northfield,  and  I  found  him  ready  to 
lead  actively  in  this  individual  work  for 
Christ  in  Yale.  The  fact  that  my  son  was 
then  an  under- graduate  in  Yale  naturally 
intensified  my  interest  in  the  work  in  that 
university.  Again  and  again  I  visited  Yale, 
and  counseled  with  Stagg  and  others  as  to 
the  prosecution  of  this  work,  and  as  to  the 
case  of  particular  individuals  in  whom  the 
workers  had  become  interested.  And  thus 
the  work  seemed  to  grow  in  importance, 
and  the  spheres  of  activity  to  multiply, 
month  by  month. 

There  were,  from  time  to  time,  different 
gatherings  in  Philadelphia  which  I  was  in- 
vited to  address  on  this  subject,  and  which 
I  was  glad  to  attend.  Thus,  on  several  oc- 
casions, I  met  young  volunteers  for  the  for- 
eign missionary  cause,  and  talked  the  mat- 
ter over  with  them,  answering  various 
practical  questions  that  they  asked  in  con- 
nection with  what  I  had  said  as  a  result  of 
my  own  ^-xperience.  Here,  as  at  North- 
field  and  Princeton,  young  Dr.  Sailer  was 
141 


UnDtviOual  llClorft 

the  means  of  my  entering  an  open  door  of 
influence,  and  he  was  a  leader  in  all  that  was 
done  or  planned  for. 

An  occasion  of  special  interest  to  me  was 
a  conference,  in  Philadelphia,  of  Young 
Women's  Christian  Associations.  This 
included  representatives  from  Wellesley, 
Smith  College,  Mt.  Holyoke,  Vassar,  Bryn 
Mawr,  and  similar  institutions  of  Christian 
learning.  I  was  invited  to  address  these 
on  the  subject  of  personal  Christian  work. 
After  my  address  I  was  plied  with  ques- 
tions, perhaps  more  freely  than  on  any 
former  like  occasion.  By  these  questions 
I  was  compelled  to  consider  phases  of  the* 
possible,  or  desirable,  work  that  I  had  not 
encountered  in  my  own  experience,  but  that 
I  was  glad  to  think  of  and  talk  about.  The 
very  questions  themselves,  in  many  cases, 
gave  evidence  that  these  young  women  were 
roused  to  the  importance  of  such  work,  and 
were  seeking  the  best  way  for  its  doing. 

A   few   years    after  my  first  address    on 
personal  work,  at  Northfield,  as  prompted 

Id2 


©tbcr  XTalliB  abour  personal  XHIiorR 

to  it  by  young  Studd's  talk,  Mr.  Moody 
was  in  Europe,  in  the  summer,  and,  of 
course,  could  not  be  present  at  the  Students* 
Conference.  He  had  arranged,  however, 
that  his  place,  at  the  head  of  that  confer- 
ence, should  be  taken  by  John  R.  Mott,  as- 
sisted by  Robert  E.  Speer.  These  workers 
asked  me  to  be  with  them  in  Northfield  dur- 
ing the  conference,  and  tc  repeat  my  talk 
about  personal  work.  This  I  gladly  ar- 
ranged to  do. 

Mr.  Mott,  in  introducing  me,  again,  to 
the  students,  spoke  of  the  new  activities,  in 
American  colleges,  of  personal,  or  individ- 
ual, work  for  souls,  as  dating  from  the  first 
talk  on  that  subject  from  the  platform 
where  he  stood.  As  there  were  many  stu- 
dents now  present  who  did  not  hear  that 
first  talk,  he  desired  its  substance  to  be 
heard  by  them,  in  order  that  they  might  be 
aroused  to  similar  activity  as  their  fellow- 
students  were  already  engaged  in.  And 
thus  it  was  that  I  came  to  give  a  second  talk 
on  personal  work  for  souls  at  Northfield 
HZ 


This  second  talk  on  the  subject,  at  North- 
field,  brought  a  fresh  and  unexpected  gath- 
ering of  spiritual  aftermath,  which  I  ought 
to  profit  by.  Possibly  because  I  had 
shown  in  my  recital  of  experiences  that  I 
took  a  special  interest  in  the  troubles  and 
needs  of  individuals  with  whom  I  had  to 
do,  some  of  the  students  who  were  present 
came  to  Mr.  Mott  and  Mr.  Speer,  and  asked 
whether  I  would  probably  be  willing  to 
hear  them  as  to  their  individual  spiritual 
doubts  or  needs,  and  to  give  them  counsel 
accordingly. 

To  this  request  I  gave  a  glad  and  hearty 
response  of  assured  welcome  to  all  who 
would  seek  my  counsel  and  aid.  Of  course, 
this  was  in  the  line  of  the  work  I  was  talk- 
ing about.  One  man  was  more  than  the 
many,  however,  to  be  reached.  Mr.  Mott 
accordingly  announced,  from  the  platform, 
the  next  day,  that  I  would  welcome,  at  my 
room  in  The  Northfield,  any  student  who  de- 
sired my  help  about  any  phase  of  the  Chris- 
tian life.  This  welcome  I  woukl  gladly 
144 


®t»Kx  trains  about  personal  morn 

give  to  ali  at  any  hour,  either  earlier  or  later, 
when  the  Conference  was  not  in  session. 


Just  hei'e  I  want  to  emphasize  an  impor- 
tant truth,  that  not  always  has  its  right 
place  in  labors  for  the  spiritual  welfare  of 
souls.  Seeking  to  win  an  outside  soul  for 
Christ  is  not  to  be  counted  a  superior  work 
to  that  of  seeking  to  draw  a  believer  closer 
to  Christ,  or  of  upbuilding  in  Christ  one 
who  is  already  his  follower.  Christ  is  to 
be  considered,  as  well  as  those  who  are,  or 
are  to  be,  his  followers.  What  is  best  for 
him  and  his  cause  is  worth  thinking  of, 
in  the  efforts  of  his  representatives.  The 
needs  of  his  dear  ones  are  also  not  to  be 
lost  sight  of.  A  cup  of  cold  water  to  one 
who  is  Christ's  is  to  be  recognized  as  a 
gift  precious  to  Christ. 

This  truth  was  impressed  on  my  mind 
in  my  army  life,  and  it  is  one  that  every 
old  soldier  will  be  prompt  to  recognize. 
What  counted  in  active  service  was  not  the 
number  of  raw  recruits,  but  the  number  of 
14$ 


lnt)ivit)ual  "(raiorR 

disciplined  soldiers.  Veterans,  hardened 
in  warfare,  toughened  by  drill  and  march, 
and  steadied  by  experience  under  fire,  were 
not  to  be  estimated,  man  for  man,  with 
fresh  recruits  just  enlisted;  they  were  often 
as  ten  to  one.  An  old  regiment  of  one 
hundred  men  would  sometimes  be  valued, 
by  the  commander,  as  worth  more  in  bat- 
tle than  a  new  regiment,  eight  hundred 
strong  in  the  ranks,  which  had  never  been 
tested,  or  its  worth  made  known  and  im-. 
proved.  It  was  so  in  the  days  of  ancient 
Israel.  It  is  so  still.  Men  were  counted  not 
by  mere  numbers,  but  by  their  solid  worth. 
"Seven  hundred  chosen  men  lefthanded; 
every  one  could  sling  stones  at  an  hair- 
breadth, and  not  miss;"  these  were  a 
power  even  in  comparison  with  *' twenty 
and  six  thousand  men  that  drew  sword." 
Not  winning  more  men,  but  improving 
men  already  in  service,  tells  most  effec- 
tively. 

What  is  wanted  in  Christ's  service  to-day 
is  "  not  more  men,  but  more  man ; "  and  it  is 
146 


©tbcr  Ualhs  about  Ipersonal  "CClocR 

the  privilege  of  the  believer  to  help  to  raise 
the  standard,  in  spirit  and  method,  of  indi- 
vidual believers.  Those  talks  with  indi- 
viduals at  Northfield,  on  my  second  visit 
there,  were  the  most  interesting  and  profit- 
able of  any  talks  with  individuals  that  I 
ever  had.  Yet  not  one  of  these  talks  was  to 
show  a  man  the  way  to  Christ.  They  were 
to  meet  doubts,  and  to  surmount  difficult 
ties,  and  to  decide  as  to  the  special  way  of 
duty.  If  I  helped  others  by  my  words,  I  am 
glad.  I  know  that  I  was  helped  in  my 
efforts  to  help. 


Occasionally  a  single  church,  in  cit)''  or 
country,  tries  the  plan  of  systematic  visita- 
tion for  the  purpose  of  evangelism.  But 
usually  this  work  is  deemed  an  exceptional 
method,  not  to  be  relied  on  as  having  any 
real  value  in  comparison  with  "the  stated 
means  of  grace."  Yet  lessons  are  to  be 
learned  by  us  all  from  some  of  these  occa- 
sional experiments. 

At  one  time  I  passed  a  Sunday  in  th« 
147 


UnOtviDual  motft 

home  of  a  superintendent  of  a  village  Sun- 
day-school in  Connecticut.  It  was  a  hum- 
ble home,  back  in  the  country,  and  no 
member  of  the  family  seemed  to  have  had 
any  special  educational  advantages.  Yet  not 
only  the  spiritual  atmosphere  of  that  home, 
but  its  religious  exercises  and  methods, 
were  such  as  to  command  my  respect,  and 
to  make  me  wish  to  commend  them  to 
others.  This  led  me  to  ask  how  all  this 
came  about,  and,  m  consequence,  I  learned 
this  instructive  story. 

The  church  of  which  this  man  was  a 
member  was  an  ordinary  Connecticut 
church,  not  given  to  new  things,  but  keep- 
ing on,  year  after  year,  in  its  tried  and  ap- 
proved course.  But  in  some  way  it  had 
been  led  to  try  the  experiment  of  having 
every  family  in  the  congregation,  or  parish, 
visited  by  appropriate  members  of  the 
church  for  religious  conversation.  Possi* 
bly  it  was  in  connection  with  the  labors  of 
an  evangelist,  but  of  that  I  am  not  sure. 
My  host,  who  was  now  the  superintendent, 
148 


®tbcr  C:alft5  about  ipcrsonal  MotH 

was  then  not  a  member  of  the  church,  nor 
was  any  one  of  his  family.  He  had  heard 
of  this  proposed  movement,  and  as  he  sat 
in  his  home  one  day  he  saw  one  of  the 
deacons  and  another  church-member  drive 
up  to  the  house  and  get  out  for  a  call.  So 
far  from  having  any  special  interest  in  this, 
he  spoke  jokingly  of  it 

But  when  the  deacon  was  in  the  home 
of  that  man  and  his  wife,  speaking  with 
them  for  Christ  as  he  had  never  spoken 
before,  they  felt  the  power  of  his  words,  and 
when  he  knelt  with  them  in  prayer  they 
were  ready  to  commit  themselves  to  the 
Saviour  in  a  sense  of  need  and  trust.  Their 
Christian  life  was  started  at  that  time  by 
that  individual  word  to  them,  as  all  the 
sermons  and  pulpit  appeals  for  years  before 
had  not  influenced  or  been  felt  by  them. 
From  that  hour  that  was  a  Christian  house- 
hold, every  child  feeling  its  influence  for 
good.  And  soon  that  new  comer  into  the 
kingdom  at  middle  life  was  chosen  superin- 
tendent of  the  Sunday-school  because  he  was 
149 


TlnDiviDual  Motft 

a  better  man  for  it  than  any  man  who  had 
been  trained  from  childhood  in  the  church. 
So  impressed  was  I  by  his  methods  in 
family  worship  that  I  adopted  them  in  my 
own  home,  commended  them  to  others, 
who  were  glad  to  adopt  them,  and  incor- 
porated them  as  models  for  imitation  in 
volumes  where  I  treated  the  subject.  Yet 
they  were  his  own  method,  originated  by 
himself,  he  never  having  been  instructed  in 
these  methods,  or  any  other.  With  all  the 
advantages  that  unmistakably  come  from 
early  training  in  conventional  and  approved 
practices,  there  are  certain  advantages  that 
accrue  from  a  fresh  way  of  looking  at  truth 
by  one  who  has  just  come  to  apprehend 
the  truth  as  the  truth  is  in  Christ.  And 
every  wise  believer  will  be  ready  to  admit 
that  it  is  better  to  win  one  soul  by  an  un- 
conventional and  original  method  than  toad- 
dress  a  thousand  souls  in  the  most  eloquent 
and  approved  method  without  winning  one 
soul.  It  is  the  winning  of  souls,  not  thcr 
trying  an  approved  method,  that  tells. 


personal  Mork  b^  QtbcxB 

It  must  not  be  understood  that  this  indU 
vidual  work  by  an  individual,  in  behalf  of 
souls,  as  described  in  this  volume,  is  in  any 
sense  unique  or  exceptional.  While  it  is 
here  offered  as  personal  testimony,  it  is  here 
referred  to  as  the  kind  of  work  that  has 
had  power  in  behalf  of  souls  from  the  begin- 
ning, and  that  is  likely  to  be  most  effective 
as  long  as  God  is  God,  and  as  souls  are 
souls. 

For  example,  the  preachers  who  are 
known  as  winning  most  souls  to  Christ 
are  not  preachers  who  expect  to  win  souls 
in  a  great  congregation  by  their  eloquent 
and  fervid  appeals  from  the  pulpit,  but  they 
are  those  who  feel  that  the  "  inquiry-meet- 
ing," or  the  *'  after-meeting  "  which  follows 
their  best  preaching  services,  has  chief 
value  in  its  enabling  them  to  get  face  to 
ilii 


InDlviDual  morft 

face  with  the  needy  sinner  who  is  present 
in  his  needs.  This  has  been  so  for  cen- 
turies with  the  evangelists  and  revivalists 
of  most  prominence  and  effectiveness.  Any 
"  evangelist "  who  failed  to  give  this  evi- 
dence of  his  appreciation  of  the  power  oi 
an  individual  with  individuals  for  Christ 
and  his  cause,  would  be  a  failure  in  all  his 
evangelistic  labors.  This  conviction,  in- 
deed, is  the  test  of  the  preacher's  interest 
in  individual  souls,  and  of  his  determina* 
tion  to  win  them. 

A  stationary  fog-horn  has  its  value  on 
a  reef,  or  a  rocky  shore,  as  a  warning  to 
those  who  approach  the  point  of  danger. 
We  must  not  say  that  this  mode  of  sound- 
ing an  alarm  has  no  value,  but  we  cannot 
suppose  that  a  fog-horn,  however  clear  its 
sound  or  well  worked  its  mechanism,  can 
fill  the  place  of  a  coast  guard  of  trained 
life-savers,  who  are  on  the  watch  to  put  out 
with  their  well-manned  life-boat  to  save 
endangered  single  souls.  There  are  differ- 
ent ways  of  working  for  individual  souls, 
152 


personal  IMorft  bs  ©tbew 

Some  of  these  ways  are  better  than  others, 
but  all  of  them  are  a  great  deal  better  than 
none. 

More  than  thirty  years  ago,  I  was  pres- 
ent at  a  meeting  of  clergymen  of  different 
denominations,  where  a  proposition  was 
being  considered  of  inviting  a  well-known 
"evangehst"  to  conduct  a  series  of*  revival 
meetings  "  in  the  community.  Some  of 
these  clergymen  criticized  the  methods  of 
work  and  the  manner  of  this  evangelist.  By 
and  by  a  clergyman  who  was  something  of 
a  sacramentarian  in  his  views  and  practices, 
and  therefore  least  likely  to  be  in  sympathy 
with  revival  methods,  surprised  all  present 
by  saying,  earnestly : 

"  You  will  understand  that  the  public 
methods  of  this  man,  in  his  work,  are  not 
such  as  I  myself  should  incline  to ;  but  I 
want  to  bear  testimony  to  his  fidelity  to  his 
Ma,3ter  in  all  his  Hfe  course.  I  was  his  fel- 
low-student in  college.  I  knew  him  well 
there,  and  I  can  speak  understanding^  of 
his  ways.  In  all  the  four  years  of  his  col* 
153 


UnDtviOual  moxH 

lege  course,  no  student  could  be  six  weeks 
there  without  having  to  meet  squarely  the 
question  of  his  personal  relations  to  Christ, 
in  consequence  of  the  loving  and  earnest 
appeals  of  that  follower  of  Christ.  I  knew 
more  than  one  who  was  thus  influenced 
by  him.  In  my  own  case,  I  was  a  skeptic 
when  I  entered  college,  and  I  had  little 
thought  on  the  subject  of  religion  anyway. 
But  that  man's  appeals  I  had  to  meet,  and  I 
could  not  resist  them.  It  is  in  consequence 
of  his  faithfulness  that  my  life  is  given  to 
the  Christian  ministry.  And  now,  what- 
ever I  think  of  that  man's  public  Christian 
methods,  I  cannot  but  be  grateful  for  his 
personal  fidelity  to  his  Master  and  ours." 

Those  of  us  who  heard  that  testimony  in 
behalf  of  one  who  was  faithful  as  an  indi- 
vidual to  individual  souls,  could  not  but 
feel  that,  apart  from  the  question  of  the 
wisdom  of  his  ordinary  public  methods  for 
Christ,  his  spirit  of  faithfulness  commanded 
onir  respect  and  approval.  The  true  seeker 
after  souls  is  too  earnest  in  his  work  to  be 

15-4 


personal  MorK  bg  ©tbcrs 

willing  to  divide  his  energies  among  more 
than  one.      That  soul  he  loves,  and  that   ' 
soul  he  must  have. 

And  it  seemed  to  me,  as  I  listened  to  this 
testimony  as  to  that  man's  faithfulness  to 
individuals  for  Christ,  and  as  I  thought  over 
the  matter  afterwards,  that  his  life  choice 
of  the  work  of  an  evangelist,  or  revivalist, 
may  have  pivoted  on  his  success  as  an 
individual  worker  for  individuals.  As  he 
had  found  that  addressing  a  multitude  did 
not  win  a  multitude,  but  that  appealing  to 
an  individual  did  often  win  the  individual, 
.  may  he  not  have  chosen  that  kind  of  min- 
isterial work  which  gave  most  prominence 
to  work  with  individuals  for  Christ  ?  As  a 
worker  for  individuals,  he  had  prominence 
in  Christ's  service,  in  widely  different  fields, 
for  a  whole  generation. 

Another  example  of  persistence  in  work 
for  individual  souls,  which  impressed  me 
profoundly,  was  in  another  than  the  college 
sphere,  although  in  the  same  earnest  spirit. 
Soon  after  the  Civil  War,  while  enlistments 
155 


UnDtvlDual  limorft 

for  the  regular  army  were  still  goift^  «m  in 
different  parts  of  the  country,4n  order  to 
bring  up  that  army  to  its  specified  numbers 
on  the  peace  basis,  young  officers,  with  a 
good  record  of  service  and  of  known  effi- 
ciency, were  assigned  to  this  duty,  and 
some  of  these  officers  did  good  work  for 
Christ  as  well  as  for  country. 

One  such  young  officer  was  in  turn  as- 
signed to  several  New  England  cities,  and 
made  his  mark  for  his  Master  in  all  of 
these  fields  of  action  and  influence.  Hav- 
ing the  true  idea  of  work  for  many  as  best 
done  through  work  for  one,  he  pressed 
that  idea  in  all  that  he  did,  or  that  he 
urged  others  to  do.  His  profession  as  a 
soldier  led  him  to  feel  that  the  best  way  of 
winning  recruits  is  by  enlisting  one  man  at 
a  time,  rather  than  by  trying  to  win  a  room- 
ful by  a  patriotic  speech. 

In  each  city  to  which  he  was  assigned 

he   naturally   went  to   the  Young   Men's 

Christian  Association  as  a  hopeful  center 

and    starting-point.       There    he    usually 

156 


personal  Woxh  bs  ©tbcra 

found  the  weekly  prayer-meeting  as  per* 
haps  the  highest  point  of  spiritual  de- 
votion. But  this  was,  to  his  mind,  too 
much  after  the  pattern  of  an  ordinary 
church  service,  where  the  congregation 
was  largely  of  church  •  members  and 
church-goers,  while  he  wanted  to  reach 
those  who  were  still  outside,  but  who  were 
compelled  to  come  in,  against  their  ordinary 
preferences  and  inclinations.  Hence  to  this 
work  he  vigorously  set  himself  at  once. 

Going  into  such  a  prayer-meeting,  early 
in  the  evening,  at  one  time,  he  asked  the 
leaders  how  many  persons  had  been  sought 
out  from  the  highways  and  byways  that 
evening.  On  being  told  that  nothing  of 
the  sort  had  been  done,  he  asked  that  all 
should  kneel  at  once  in  prayer,  offering  an 
ejaculation  of  consecration  to  this  service, 
and  of  petition  for  help  in  this  service,  and 
then  all  should  scatter  to  the  street  corners 
and  drinking-places  and  gambling-houses, 
seeking  souls,  and  urging  them  to  come  in 
wVere  they  could  be  helped.  Fifteen  min- 
157 


UnDlviDual  Woxh 

utes  or  more  later  they  were  to  return  to 
the  Association  rooms,  and  then  they 
might  have  a  hopeful  prayer-meeting  there. 
The  first  experiment  was  an  eminent  suc- 
cess, and  its  every  repetition  seemed  an 
improvement  on  this.  More  of  those  for 
whom  they  had  there  hoped  and  prayed 
were  gathered  in  in  a  single  evening,  under 
this  plan  of  work,  than  under  the  old  plan, 
or  the  no  plan,  in  any  one  year  before. 

Of  course,  the  good  results  of  this  kind 
of  effort  were  a  surprise  to  those  who  had 
supposed  that  being  willing  to  pay  for  a 
seat  in  church,  or  being  willing  to  look  up  for 
themselves  a  regular  religious  service,  was 
an  essential  preliminary  to  being  a  hopeful 
member  of  a  regular  congregation.  This 
has  been  so,  in  fact,  for  centuries.  In  this 
case  gamblers  gave  up  gambling,  drunkards 
gave  up  drinking,  scoffers  gave  up  scoffing, 
doubters  gave  up  doubting,  and  those  who 
had  been  counted  as  outcasts  became  glad 
and  grateful  followers  of  the  Lord  Jesus, 
urging  their  old  associates  to  receive  life  in* 
IS8 


personal  Morfi  bs  Otbcr^ 

stead  of  death,  as  they  had  already  accepted 
it.  In  one  instance  a  rumseller,  influenced 
by  his  now  rescued  customers,  abandoned 
his  vile  pursuit  and  became  an  active  re- 
cruiting officer  for  the  Captain  of  his  Salva- 
tion. Such  results  as  this  are  natural  when 
souls  are  sought  one  at  a  time  by  one  who 
is  in  loving,  living^  earnestness,  intent  in 
pursuit  of  that  one  soul. 

Such  a  teacher  as  this,  in  such  a  work  as 
this,  was  a  power  for  good  over  those  whom 
he  inspired  and  led  in  it.  He  did  not  pro- 
pose to  do  all  the  work  which  he  pointed 
out  He  simply  convinced  them  that  this 
was  the  way  for  its  doing,  and  then  he  left 
them  to  do  it.  Those  who  had  never  be- 
fore thought  of  this  method  of  work  took 
hold  of  it  gladly  and  efTectively  under  his 
direction.  One  of  my  army  comrades 
whom  I  had  been  privileged  to  lead  to 
Christ  while  in  the  army,  told  me  of  his 
experience  in  this  man-to-man  soul-hunting. 
He  had  kneeled  in  prayer  in  the  Young 
Men's  Christian  Association  rooms,  and  now 
150 


UnDivt^ual  moth 

he  was  seeking  souls.  As  he  stood  opposite 
a  saloon  he  saw  a  young  man,  whom  he 
had  never  seen  before,  apparently  about 
going  in.  He  stood  at  the  turning  of  the 
ways.     The  story  my  friend  told  me  was  : 

**  I  tapped  him  on  the  shoulder.  As  he 
turned  inquiringly  to  me,  I  said,  *  Come,  go 
with  me,  and  I'll  do  you  good.* " 

"Where  do  you  want  me  to  go?"  he 
asked. 

"It*s  a  prayer-meeting  of  young  mea 
I've  got  good  there,  and  I  want  you  to  get 
the  same." 

**A  prayer-meeting  1  I'm  not  dressed 
for  prayer-meeting." 

"You're  dressed  enough.  The  Lord 
looketh  not  on  the  outward  appearance. 
The  Lord  looketh  on  the  heart." 

And  then  the  recruiting  officer  for  Christ 
drew  his  arm  through  the  other's  arm,  and 
led  him  in  the  right  way.  In  the  Associa- 
tion rooms  that  new  recruit  rose,  and  told 
of  his  wish  to  serve  Christ,  and  he  asked  to 
be  prayed  for  by  those  present.  And  that 
x6o 


IPcrdonal  MorK  bis  Otbew 

was  the  beginning  of  a  new  life  for  him.  And 
this  was  only  one  instance  among  many. 

Of  the  work  of  this  worker  for  Christ 
and  for  single  souls  I  knew  much  in  varied 
and  widely  different  fields.  In  addition  to 
all  that  he  did  for  souls,  he  did  yet  more 
in  leading  others  to  work  in  this  way  for 
Christ  Several  of  these  were,  at  the  time 
of  his  meeting  them,  young  men  who  were 
in  preparation  for  the  Christian  ministry. 
TIiv,y  learned  from  him  the  great  truth  that 
it  is  better  to  work  for  one  than  for  many. 
After  that,  not  even  a  theological  seminary 
could  mislead  them  into  the  idea  that  it  is 
better  to  appeal  to  a  great  congregation  ot 
those  whom  you  cannot  get  at,  than  to  ad- 
dress a  single  soul  face  to  face  and  make  a 
direct  issue  with  him. 

These  two  instances  of  the  student  evan- 
gelist and  of  the  army  recruiting  oflficer 
have  been  of  themselves  satisfactory  proof 
that  the  ordinary  and  conventional  work- 
ing for  souls  in  the  mass  is  not  the  best 
way,  and  that  the  best  way  is  a  better  way. 
i6i 


UnDlviDual  Worli 

And  twjr  own  experience  of  half  a  century 
has  tended  to  the  same  conclusion,  in  spite 
of  my  many  shortcomings  and  failures. 

The  real  question  is  not,  "Is  this  the 
best  time  for  a  personal  word  for  Christ  ?  " 
but  it  is  "Am  I  willing  to  improve  this 
time  for  Christ,  and  for  a  precious  soul, 
whether  it  is  the  best  time  or  not  ?  "  If 
the  Christian  waits  until  the  sinner  gives 
sign  of  a  desire  for  help,  or  until  the  Chris- 
tian thinks  that  a  loving  word  to  the  sinner 
will  be  most  timely,  he  is  not  likely  to 
begin  at  all.  The  only  safe  rule  for  his 
guidance — if  indeed  a  Christian  needs  a 
specific  rule  as  a  guide — is  to  speak  lov- 
ingly of  Christ  and  of  Christ's  love  for  the 
individual  whenever  one  has  an  opportu- 
nity of  choosing  his  subject  of  conversation 
in  an  interview  with  an  individual  who  may 
be  in  special  need,  yet  who  has  given  no 
special  indication  of  it.  This  seems  to 
have  beerx  Paul's  idea  in  his  counsel  to 
young  Timothy :  "  Preach  the  word  ;  be  in- 
stpnt  in  season,  out  of  season;  bring  to  the 
162 


personal  moxh  bg  ©tbera 

proof,  rebuke,  exhort,  with  all  longsufter- 
ing  and  teaching."  The  most  important 
of  all  themes  of  converse  would  seem  to  be 
worthy  of  prominence  in  comparison  with 
others.  But  does  it  ordinarily  have  this 
among  Christians  ? 

When,  on  one  occasion,  I  had  spoken  on 
this  subject  at  a  Students'  Conference  in 
Northfield,  a  well-known  Christian  business 
man  gave  me  an  incident  out  of  his  own 
experience  that  well  illustrates  the  truth  I 
would  here  emphasize.  He  was  on  his 
way  to  an  international  convention  of 
Young  Men's  Christian  Associations  in 
Montreal.  As  the  train  approached  that 
city,  a  bright  young  man  came  into  the  car 
as  a  representative  of  a  prominent  hotel  in 
Montreal,  seeking  guests  for  his  hostelry. 
My  friend  inquired  as  to  the  location  and 
advantages  of  the  house,  in  view  of  the 
heat  of  summer,  then  prevailing.  At  once 
the  young  man  waxed  eloquent  over  the 
subject,  and  fairly  convinced  his  hearer 
that  this  was  the  place  for  him, 
163 


UnMviOual  TKIlotft 

As  my  informant  arranged  for  a  room 
there,  he  asked  pleasantly  of  the  zealous 
advocate : 

"  My  young  friend,  are  you  a  follower  of 
Jesus?" 

"  I  can*t  say  I  am,  sir,"  was  the  reply. 

**WelI,  if  you  were  in  Christ's  service, 
and  would  plead  as  earnestly  for  his  cause 
as  you  do  for  the  hotel  you  now  represent, 
you  would  be  a  valuable  helper  to  your 
Master,  and  you  might  do  a  great  deal  of 
good  to  others.  I  wish  you  were  in  Christ's 
service,  using  your  powers  for  him." 

The  young  man  passed  on  through  the 
car,  and  my  friend  went  his  way  to  the 
city,  having  simply  said  this  word  for  his 
Master,  as  was  his  wont.  It  did  not  seem 
to  be  an  exceptionally  hopeful  occasion,  but 
who  can  tell  ? 

Several  years  passed.  My  friend  sat, 
one  day,  in  his  private  office  in  a  New  Eng- 
land city.  As  he  called  out  a  question  to 
some  one  in  the  hallway,  his  pleasant  voice 
sounded  through  the  building.  Almost 
164 


Ipersonal  Mori;  bs  ©tbcrs 

immediately  a  strange  young  man  appeared 
at  the  office  door,  and  said: 

"  Excuse  me,  sir ;  but,  may  I  ask,  did 
you  not  attend  a  convention  in  Montreal, 
about  the  first  of  July,  a  few  summers 
ago?" 

"Yes,  I  did,  as  I  well  remember;  but 
what  of  that?*' 

"  Do  you  remember  speaking  to  a  young 
man  on  the  cars,  and  telling  him  you  wished 
he  would  work  for  Jesus  as  faithfully  as 
he  was  then  working  for  a  hotel  in  Mon- 
treal ?  " 

**  I  think  I  do,  now  that  you  recall  it** 

"Well,  /  cannot  forget  it.  Your  words 
rang  in  my  ears.  They  resulted  in  bring- 
ing me  into  the  service  of  Jesus,  and  now  I 
am  trying  to  speak  words  for  him  wherever 
I  go.  Being  in  this  city  on  business  to- 
day, I  came  into  this  building  [where 
were  the  rooms  of  the  Young  Men's 
Christian  Association],  and  as  I  was  near 
your  door  I  heard  that  voice  which  has 
been  sounding  in  my  memory  all  these 
165 


tnDiviOual  TKIlorn 

years,  and  I  have  come  to  thank  you  for 

what  you  have  done  for  me." 

That  delegate  to  the  International  Con- 
vention of  Young  Men's  Christian  Asso- 
ciations did  more  by  his  word  to  an 
individual  for  Christ  than  if  he  had  made 
half  a  dozen  eloquent  addresses  in  the 
convention.  That  is  a  fact  to  be  borne 
in  mind  by  all.  Is  it  not  worth  while  to 
be  remembered  pleasantly,  as  speaking  lov- 
ingly for  Jesus  to  those  whom  we  meet  in 
our  daily  life  ?  Why  should  any  of  us  fail 
of  saying  the  words,  day  by  day,  that  may 
be  thus  remembered  as  having  honored 
our  Master,  and  as  having  helped  those 
whom  Christ  loves? 


866 


XI 

TPdlby  t0  personal  Wioxh  so 
UlcGlecteOI 

If  words  for  Christ  to  an  individual  arc 
most  effective  in  the  winning  of  souls,  why- 
are  they  not  more  commonly  spoken  by 
those  who  love  Christ  and  love  souls  ?  Is 
it  because  persons  do  not  know  this  truth, 
or  that  they  are  incompetent  to  speak  the 
needed  words ;  or  do  they  simply  neglect 
the  duty  which  they  recognize  as  a  duty, 
and  which  they  are  amply  competent  to 
perform?  Probably  no  one  answer  would 
meet  every  case.  Different  answers  would 
be  given  in  different  cases. 

We  do  know  that  evil  opposes  good  in 
the  universe.  Over  against  Ormuzd  is 
Ahriman  in  the  Zoroastrian  religion. 
Over  against  God  is  Satan  in  the  Bible 
teachings.  It  would  seem  that  Satan  de- 
sires to  prfc^^ent  any  believer  from  speaking 
167 


UnDlvlDual  Worft 

a  word  to  an  individual  for  Christ  even 
while  he  does  not  expect  to  prevent  all 
preaching  to  a  whole  congregation.  His 
favorite  argument  with  a  believer  is  that 
just  now  is  not  a  good  time  to  speak  on 
the  subject.  The  lover  of  Christ  and  of 
souls  IS  told  that  he  will  harm  the  cause  he 
loves  by  introducing  the  theme  of  themes 
just  now.  Will  not  every  disciple  who 
has  had  experience  in  this  line  of  effort 
admit  that  he  has  frequently  found  this 
to  be  the  case? 

Out  of  my  own  experience  I  can  bear 
testimony  to  this.  From  nearly  half  a  cen- 
tury of  such  practice,  as  I  have  had  op- 
portunity day  by  day,  I  can  say  that  I  have 
spoken  with  thousands  upon  thousands  on 
the  subject  of  their  spiritual  welfare.  Yet, 
so  far  from  my  becoming  accustomed  to 
this  matter,  so  that  I  can  take  hold  of  it  as 
a  inatter  of  course,  I  find  it  as  difficult  to 
speak  about  it  at  the  end  of  these  years  as 
at  the  beginning.  Never  to  the  present 
day  can  I  speak  to  a  single  soul  for  Christ 
i68 


TKabs  is  personal  TIQlorft  bo  JUcQlcctct) 

without  being  reminded  by  Satan  that  I  am 
in  danger  of  harming  the  cause  by  intro- 
ducing it  just  now.  If  there  is  one  thing  that 
Satan  is  sensitive  about,  it  is  the  danger  of 
a  Christian's  harming  the  cause  he  loves  by 
speaking  of  Christ  to  a  needy  soul.  He 
has  more  than  once,  or  twice,  or  thrice, 
kept  me  from  speaking  on  the  subject  by 
his  sensitive  pious  caution,  and  he  has 
tried  a  thousand  times  to  do  so.  There- 
fore my  experience  leads  me  to  suppose 
that  he  is  urging  other  persons  to  try  any 
method  for  souls  except  the  best  one. 

This  I  do  know,  that  men  who  have  a 
national  and  an  international  fame  as 
preachers  to  a  multitude  actually  say^ 
not  only  think,  but  say — that  they  cannot 
speak  to  an  individual  soul  for  Christ.  In 
some  instances  these  preachers  speak  of  it 
as  if  they  counted  a  sinner's  personality  too 
sacred  to  speak  a  word  to,  even  to  save  his 
soul  or  to  honor  Christ.  In  other  cases, 
they  speak  of  their  inability  as  an  amiable 
weakness,  instead  of  as  a  pitiable  moral 
169 


InMviDual  motft 

and  spiritual  defect,  which  proves  them 
incompetent  for  their  position  and  profes- 
sion. Yet  these  claims  or  confessions  have 
to  be  recognized  in  the  attempt  to  an- 
swer the  startling  question,  in  view  of  all 
that  is  known  of  what  has  been,  and  of 
what  might  be,  "  why  is  personal  work  so 
generally  neglected?" 

Another  reason  why  personal  as  over 
against  collective  work  for  souls  is  not  so 
prominent  or  so  attractive  a  line  of  religious 
effort  on  behalf  of  Christ  or  of  those  whom 
he  loves,  is  that  this  seems  insignificant  in 
contrast  with  the  other.  Apart  from  any 
evidence  or  argument  on  the  subject,  is  it 
to  be  supposed  that  a  few  personal  words 
to  an  individual  in  a  corner  of  a  seat,  or  as 
one  walks  with  another  to  or  from  a  church 
service,  is  as  likely  to  be  impressive  or  con- 
vincing while  only  the  one  preacher  and 
the  one  hearer  know  what  is  said,  as  are 
the  words  of  an  eloquent  orator  which  echo 
and  re-echo  in  a  vast  auditorium  filled  with 
a  sympathetic  audience  ?  Is  not  the  stating 
170 


XDlbs  10  personal  TIDlorli  00  IQcglccteD 

of  that  question  its  own  prompt  answering? 
Whether  on  account  of  God  or  of  Satan,  the 
crowd  has  an  obvious  advantage  in  attrac- 
tiveness over  the  individual  as  an  audience 
for  a  Christian  who  is  in  search  of  souls. 

Even  if  we  are  told  not  to  despise  "  the 
day  of  small  things  "  in  comparison  with 
the  day  of  great  things,  we  are  inclined  to 
prefer  the  latter  for  our  own  reputation, 
and  to  hope  that  it  may  have  a  gain  in 
effectiveness.  This  is  so  in  other  warfare 
than  that  of  Christ  with  his  foes.  My  ex- 
perience in  active  service  in  the  Civil  War 
taught  me,  as  I  am  sure  it  taught  others 
on  both  sides  in  that  conflict,  that  the 
thunder  of  artillery  was  likely  to  be  most 
impressive,  but  that  the  rifles  of  the  sharp- 
shooters brought  down  more  men.  This 
was  peculiarly  the  case  in  the  siege  life  be- 
fore Charleston  and  before  Petersburg.  The 
shriek  and  the  crash  of  the  bursting  shell 
told  in  their  impressiveness,  especially  upon 
those  who  were  least  experienced;  but  the 
quiet "  hum  "  or  the  "  whiz  "  of  the  rifle  of  the 
171 


UnDiviOual  TlClork 

sharpshooter  did  execution  as  ten  to  one,  or 
as  a  hundred  to  one,  in  comparison.  Yet 
the  artillery  officer  who  could  tell  of  how- 
many  rounds  he  had  fired  in  action  could 
boast  more  of  his  service,  even  if  he  did  not 
know  that  he  had  ever  hit  anybody,  than 
could  the  best  sharpshooter  on  the  whole 
line.  So  it  is  with  those  who  address  in- 
dividuals for  Christ.  Sharpshooters  may 
bring  down  more  individuals  with  their 
telling  single  bullets,  but  they  cannot  make 
the  impression  in  the  surrounding  atmos- 
phere that  is  made  by  the  big  guns  that 
are  heard  to  thunder  out  from  the  pulpit 
casements  every  time  they  open  fire. 


One  more  reason  why  pulpit  casements 
and  their  thundering  artillery  have  an  ad- 
vantage over  sharpshooters  with  their  bullets 
aimed  at  single  individuals,  is  in  the  train- 
ing that  the  men  in  the  casements  have  had 
in  preparation  for  active  service.  In  most 
of  the  theological  seminaries  and  divinity 
schools  little  special  instruction  is  given  ia 
173 


tIClDs  fs  personal  TIClorft  so  UlcfllccteD 

individual  work  for  individual  souls,  and, 
in  consequence,  young  ministers  go  out 
from  those  training  schools  without  know- 
ing how  to  do  the  most  important  work  of 
the  ministry.  In  some  of  these  training 
schools  there  is  no  professor  competent  to 
give  instruction  on  the  subject,  even  if  it 
were  desired  as  the  most  important  thing 
to  be  sought  after.  Of  course,  an  old  min- 
ister, who  never  did  anything  in  that  line 
while  he  was  a  preacher,  could  not  hope  to 
teach  a  learner  about  it,  when  he  himself 
was  approaching  the  "dead-line."  The 
magnitude  of  this  difficulty  can  hardly  be 
over-estimated  as  an  obstacle  to  effective 
work  for  single  souls  among  ministers  and 
in  the  church. 

So  intent  is  the  average  young  minister 
or  divinity  student  on  his  great  work  of 
preparation  for  preaching  the  gospel  to  all 
the  world,  or  at  least  to  a  great  congrega- 
tion, that  he  should  hardly  be  expected  to 
turn  aside  for  the  insignificant  mission  of 
speaking  to  an  individual  for  Christ.  A 
173 


single  incident  related  to  me  by  an  active 
worker  for  individuals  for  Christ  illustrates 
this  truth  startlingly.  He  was  visiting  a 
well-known  divinity  school  in  order  to  have 
an  interview  with  a  student.  While  wait- 
ing for  that  student  he  was  improving,  his 
time,  as  usual,  by  seeking  individual  souls 
near  him.  Encountering  a  janitor,  or  other 
helper,  in  the  hall,  he  had  a  pleasant,  direct 
talk  with  him.  He  found  a  soul  waiting  to 
be  helped.  He  led  that  soul  to  the  Sav- 
iour. In  conversation  he  found  that  al- 
though that  soul  had  been  long  in  the 
vicinity  of  embryo  preachers,  not  a  word 
had  been  spoken  to  him  by  one  of  them. 
They  were  waiting  to  be  eloquent  to  a  full 
congregation.  Why  should  they  waste 
their  strength  on  a  single  soul  ?  That  is 
an  illustrative  incident,  even  if  it  is  not  an 
instructive  one. 

Pulpit  preaching  has  had  undue  promi- 
nence among  Protestants  in  comparison  with 
other  agencies  for  winning  souls,  since  the 
days  of  the  Reformation.   And  modern  pul- 
174 


TRnb^  (a  {Personal  Morh  so  meglcctcD 

pit  preaching  is  more  prominent  as  a  mono- 
logue than  that  of  the  earlier  Christian 
centuries.  In  the  days  of  Chrysostom  and 
of  Augusrtine  the  preacher  was  readier  to 
converse  from  the  pulpit  with  the  individual 
than  is  the  modern  preacher.  In  other 
words,  modern  preaching  has  neither  the 
approval  of  high  antiquity  nor  of  practical 
reasonableness.  More  persons  can  be  won 
singly  than  collectively.  That  was  recog- 
nized in  the  ancient  times.  It  would  be 
recognized  nowadays  by  all  who  would 
examine  into  the  subject,  and  who  were 
ready  to  be  convinced  by  good  sense, 
sound  judgment,  and  experience. 

After  all,  it  is  the  man-to-man  work  that 
tells.  And  because  it  is  this  work  that  is 
most  effective,  this  is  the  work  that  it  is  best 
to  do.  Even  though  it  is  a  less  attractive 
work,  as  we  look  at  it,  and  seems  to  others 
less  important  to  be  done,  we  must  admit 
that  the  results  are  worth  considering.  As 
John  B.  Gough  said  of  the  one  loving  word 
of  Joel  Stratton  that  won  him  :  "  My  friend, 
175 


it  may  be  a  small  matter  for  you  to  speak 
the  one  word  for  Christ  that  wins  a  needy 
soul — a  small  matter  to  you,  but  it  is  every* 
thing  to  him**  It  is  forgetting  this  truth 
that  causes  personal  work  to  be  neglected. 


m 


XII 

InfluencCt  on   (S^tbers,  of  personal 
Conviction 

A  man's  belief  of  what  he  proclaims 
goes  far  to  make  it  believed  by  others.  So 
long  as  he  himself  has  any  doubt  on  the 
subject,  he  is  not  likely  to  convince  those 
who  are  in  doubt.  This  is  true  in  ever}' 
sphere  of  life.  If  a  man  sees  his  neighbor's 
house  on  fire,  in  the  dead  of  night,  his  wild, 
ringing  shriek  of  "Fire!  Fire!  Fire!  Turn 
out!  Turn  out!  Your  house  is  afire!" 
sounds  out  on  the  midnight  air  with  a 
force  that  is  itself  convincing.  All  who 
hear  it  know  that  the  one  who  utters  it 
feels  its  truth,  and  wants  others  to  feel  it. 

How  different  it  would  be  if  a  man 
should  knock  timidly  at  the  house  door, 
and  say  gently  that  he  had  reason  to  think 
that  a  fire  was  kindling  in  the  vicinity,  and 
that  he  thought  it  would  be  well  to  look 
177 


InDiviDual  Morft 

into  the  matter.  How  could  he  expect 
dull  sleepers  to  be  aroused  on  such  a  call  ? 
If  his  knowledge  did  not  stir  him  more 
Uian  this,  how  could  he  expect  those  yet 
asleep  to  be  aroused  from  their  torpor  by 
him? 

Peculiarly  is  this  the  case  with  one  who 
sounds  a  call  to  stir  a  sluggish  soul  to  ac- 
tion, in  view  of  truth  that  he  deems  pre- 
cious and  all-important,  but  which  the  other 
is  not  very  anxious  about  or  fully  convinced 
of  Any  show  of  doubt,  or  indecision,  on 
the  part  of  God's  herald,  is  calculated  to 
shake  the  confidence  of  the  hearer  of  the 
message.  This  has  been  found  to  be  the 
case  by  every  gospel  preacher,  or  winner  of 
single  souls,  in  any  sphere.  Every  show 
of  earnestness,  or  evidence  of  intense  con- 
viction, on  the  part  of  those  who  stand  for 
Christ,  gives  added  weight  to  each  word 
of  the  message  from  the  Captain  of  our 
Salvation.  Hearty  Governor  Andrew,  of 
Massachusetts,  said  of  Abraham  Lincoln, 
when  he  had  assumed  the  presidency, "  I'm 
178 


Influence,  on  ©tbers,  ot  personal  Conviction 

glad  weVe  got  a  man  who  believes  eome* 
thing."  If  a  man  would  have  another 
believe  something,  he  must  believe  some- 
thing himself. 

An  earnest  young  clergyman  in  New 
England,  whom  I  know  well,  began  his 
ministry  in  a  parish  where  his  predecessor 
had  lacked  strong  conviction,  and  had  en- 
couraged, if  not  cultivated,  doubts.  The 
new  clergyman's  beliefs  were  startling  to 
his  congregation.  One  Sunday,  after  the 
service,  a  bright  young  man  came  up  to 
the  minister,  and  said : 

*'  I  don't  believe  what  you  are  preaching, 
and  I  want  to  discuss  your  beliefs  with 
you." 

"Well,  my  friend,  there's  no  use  in  our 
doing  that.  I  am  convinced,  and  you  don't 
want  to  be.  I  am  set  here  to  preach  the 
truth  that  I  believe,  whether  my  hearers 
believe  it  or  not." 

Weeks  went  on.  The  minister  saw  his 
young  friend,  Sunday  after  Sunday,  in  the 
gallery.  One  Sunday  the  minister  invited 
179 


all  who  wanted  to  converse  with  him  on 
the  matter  of  personal  religion  to  come  to 
his  study  on  Monday  evening.  That  even- 
ing this  young  man  appeared.  Coming  up 
to  the  pastor's  study  table^  where  the  pas- 
tor sat,  he  said: 

**  I  am  here  to-night,  not  ibr  argument, 
but  for  counsel.  I've  watched  you  and 
have  heard  you  for  weeks.  I  know  that 
you  have  got  something  that  I  haven't. 
Now  I  want  you  to  tell  me  how  I  can  get 
your  crucified  Christ." 

The  preacher  was  ready  to  help  that 
seeker.  And  another  soul  was  won  to 
Christ  through  the  counsel  of  a  believer 
who  had  convictions. 


It  is  the  same  with  a  Christian  preacher 
as  it  is  with  a  Christian  layman  in  work  for 
Christ.  The  truth  in  each  case  is  the  same, 
and  the  power  of  a  conviction  is  felt  alike 
by  the  hearer,  whoever  is  the  declarer  of 
the  truth.  One  who  was  widely  known  as 
fcithful  in  good  words  and  good  works  in 
180 


Influence,  on  ©tbers,  ot  personal  Conrlctton 

Eastern  Massachusetts  told  me  of  his  ex- 
perience in  this  line.  He  was  accustomed 
to  ride  out  from  Boston  daily  to  and  from 
a  suburban  town.  One  who  was  frequently 
his  seat-mate  was  a  man  prominent  as  an 
unbeliever,  and  who  edited  a  free-thinking 
periodical.  Again  and  again  this  man  en- 
deavored to  draw  my  friend  into  discussion 
on  the  subject  of  religion,  but  without  suc- 
ceeding in  so  doing.  One  day  my  friend 
openly  met  the  matter  in  this  way: 

"I  do  not  want  to  have  a  discussion  with 
you  on  the  subject  of  religion.  I'm  no 
match  for  you  in  argument.  You'd  get  the 
better  of  me  every  time.  But,  apart  from 
that,  one  thing  I  know,  that  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  is  my  Saviour,  and  I  trust  him  all 
the  time.  This  is  the  comfort  of  my  life, 
and  I  wish  you  had  the  same  comfort," 

At  this  his  pertinacious  seat-mate  brought 
his  hand  down  sharply  on  my  friend's  knee, 
and  said  heartily: 

**  There  you've  got  me,  my  friend     Tve 
nothing  to  offer  against  that" 
i8i 


My  friend's  conviction  was  his  best  and 
his  resistless  argument.  "  I  know  whom 
I  have  believed"  will  convince  another  if 
anything  will.  No  method  of  discussion 
will  take  its  place  with  any  hearer. 


An  experience  of  my  own  in  the  modern 
Athens  emphasized  this  truth.  I  was  in 
an  office  where  I  occasionally  had  business, 
and,  as  I  was  talking  with  the  proprietor,  I 
said,  as  he  asked  my  opinion  in  a  matter 
of  principle : 

"  The  Bible  says  so  and  so." 

"  What  Bible  ?  "  he  inquired  sharply,  al- 
most defiantly. 

"The  Bible,"  I  replied  to  this  question, 
quietly  but  firmly. 

"  Muhammadans  have  one  Bible.  Bood- 
dhists  have  another  Bible.  Jews  have  an- 
other Bible.  Chinese  have  another  Bible- 
Which  Bible  do  you  mean?"  he  responded 

"  TTie  Bible,"  was  my  response. 

"Well,  I  suppose  I  know  what  you 
mean." 

tSa 


Influence,  on  ©tbers,  of  Personal  Convlctton 

That  was  a  point  gained  to  start  with. 
He  admitted  that  "  The  Bible  "  was  not  to 
be  put  on  a  plane  with  the  others,  so  that 
he  was  really  in  no  doubt  on  the  subject. 

"But,"  he  added,  "I  don't  agree  with 
you  as  to  the  value  of  the  Bible." 

''I'm  sorry/*  I  replied. 

"You  think,  I  suppose,"  he  went  on  to 
say,  "  that  the  Bible  is  God's  word." 

"Of  course  I  do." 

"Well,  won't  you  try  to  prove  to  me  that 
it  is  so?" 

"No,  indeed." 

**  Wouldn't  you  like  to  have  me  believe 
the  Bible?" 

"  Of  course  I  should." 

"Well,  then,  why  not  try  to  convince 
me?" 

"If  God  has  failed  in  this,  with  all  that 
he  has  done  for  you  in  a  third  of  a  cen- 
tury, I  don't  propose  to  set  my  little  hazel- 
nut brain  at  the  task  at  this  late  day." 

"  Why,  then,  won't  you  prove  to  me  that 
God  is  what  you  believe  him  to  be  ?  " 
183 


InMviDual  MorR 

**The  subject  is  too  sacred  for  ordinary 
!  discussion.  I  wouldn't  consent  to  discuss 
j  with  you  the  question  whether  my  mother 
I  was  really  my  mother ;  yet  God  is  dearer 
'  to  me  than  is  my  mother  or  my  father." 

At  this  I  left  the  office  without  further 
comment.  A  few  weeks  later  I  was  there 
again.     He  said: 

"  I  understand,  Mr.  Trumbull,  how  you 
feel  about  the  Bible ;  so  I  won't  ask  you  to 
discuss  it.  But  have  you  any  objection  to 
telling  me  what  you  understand  the  Bible 
to  teach  on  certain  points  ?  " 

*'  Not  in  the  slightest,"  I  replied. 

Then  the  way  was  open  for  a  frank,  free, 
and  reverent  conference  over  the  teachings 
of  the  Bible ;  and  the  man  who  had  been 
a  scoffer  was  ready  to  be  told  the  truth 
as  to  Bible  teachings  by  one  who  had  no 
doubts  on  the  subject,  and  who  therefore 
commanded  confidence.  Several  such  con- 
ferences as  this  seemed  to  bring  this  man 
into  a  different  attitude  toward  the  Bible 
and  its  teachings.  After  a  longer  absence 
184 


Influence,  on  ©tbcrs.  ot  personal  Conriction 

than  usual  from  Boston,  when  I  was  once 
more  in  the  office  of  this  man,  he  said  to 
me: 

**  Mr.  Trumbull,  will  you  tell  me  just 
where  is  your  home?" 

As  I  told  him,  he  said : 

"  I've  been  very  sick.  I  thought  I  was 
going  to  die,  and  I  wanted  to  send  for 
you." 

Then,  as  if  to  show  that  he  had  not 
wholly  abandoned  his  disbelief,  he  added : 

"  Not  that  I  was  really  troubled  aboul 
myself  or  my  beliefs,  but  you  seem  so  con- 
fident in  your  beliefs,  that,  if  I  was  going 
to  die,  I  wanted  you  to  talk  with  me." 

The  way  was  then  open  for  a  free  talk 
about  Christ  and  his  salvation,  which  I 
tried  to  improve  for  that  needy  soul.  "  For 
their  rock  is  not  as  cur  Rock,  even  our 
enemies  themselves  being  judges."  We 
surely  ought  to  be  confident  in  our  beliefs, 
and  impress  others  by  this  confider.ce,  as 
we  seek  to  win  them  to  their  Saviour  and 
ours.     We  have  every  advantage,  and  we 


UnDivlOual  Moth 

should  show  this  in  our  loving  labor  for 
souls. 

Intense  conviction,  showing  itself  in  in* 
tense  personality,  marks  the  difference  be- 
tween an  ordinary  leader,  or  counselor, 
and  an  exceptional  one.  It  was  not  the 
number  of  his  soldiers,  but  his  power  to 
use  every  man  as  if  he  were  ten  men,  or 
a  hundred,  that  made  Napoleon,  or  Phil 
Sheridan,  the  general  that  he  was.  Surely 
he  who  has  Christ  back  of  him  in  his  every 
word  and  his  every  deed,  ought  to  feel  that 
he  is  wielding  the  power  of  the  Almighty 
when  he  acts  or  speaks  for  his  Saviour  in 
that  Saviour's  work. 


186 


Princeton 


Theological  Seminary  Libranes 


I 

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